Plum Granny Muskmelon - natural room fragrance
I read about this very fragrant apple-size muskmelon several years ago, and I finally got around to getting some seeds so I can grow it. They're germinating in starter pots and I'll transplant them in a few weeks. They'll need some support to grow up for optimum yield, so I'm clearing out some Delicious Monster vines by the fence. (more about them in a future post)
The flesh is insipid, so it's not an eating melon, but oh, the descriptions I've read about the rind! Rich, diffusive melon sweet honey pretty. That's enough for me! Just two can fragrance a room for several days. Victorian ladies, who called this Queen Anne pocket melon, would carry one in a pocket so fragrance the air around them. I got my seeds from Southern Seed Exchange.
Hello dear Anya,
ReplyDeleteThese small melons make me want to smell them so badly. It's the first time I've come to know of them. speaking of melons in general, I love their scent and really, just one melon is enough to keep the room fragrant for a couple of days. I haven't grown any unusual plant, but have recently learned from a horticulturist in my city about a cacti that's called Mother-in-law's tongue. It smells so beautiful at night.
What a treat!!! I grew these several years ago & when i distilled them into a hydrosol, it was my very first post when i joined your forum :D
ReplyDeleteNaheed, I believe these are supposed to be sweeter and more fragrant than regular melons, so I can only hope for a delight when they mature. I wonder if your MIL cacti is night-blooming cereus? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightblooming_cereus I have one in a pot under one of my oak trees. I don't harvest the flowers, I just enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteDabney, I wonder if that's where I first read about them! I hope they do well over the winter here, with our soils and different sun (short days). I hope so!
ReplyDeleteOhh, what a beautiful topic, I'm dreaming about those muskmelons. I offered to my sister a beautiful Buddha's hands cedrat.
ReplyDeleteI see it very often as my sister and I, we live in the same area. The fragrance of the flowers, and the fruits is beautiful, citrusy-floral. The hands are just amazing, and very big, comparing to the small size of this very young cedrat.
I used to know cedrat only by books about Victorian Scottish cookery (being part of the famous Aberdeen cake, if I remember). I used to find some cristallized green cedrat in a store in Lyon, but nothing compared to my sister's cedrat. Now, it is very fashionable in modern cookery and I tested fresly grated rinds to finish some fresh vinaigrette for fishes, for instance. Bit we need to use it with caution, because it is very powerful, and the floral note does not fits with everything. I will try to tincture some as this young tree seems to be more and more prolific.
Hi Claire:
ReplyDeleteI have Buddha's hand growing in my garden, but I have not treated it properly for a few years, and due to not enough water, it dropped its flowers and fruits. This year is different, I am pampering it! I think Elise got some fruits at a local market, so I'm going to look for them. She's tincturing them. She said one she got was slightly green.
Good luck with your tinctures, let me know how they turn out.
xoxo
Anya
Yes, Anya it's night-blooming one that's what I was told by the horticulturist. I don't own one yet but soon it will be with me:)
ReplyDeletexox
Naheed
Anya i bet you have the sandy loam they like! I can find nothing on day length but Amy Goldman who wrote 'Melons for the Passionate Grower' grows the heck out of them in NY (i think)
ReplyDeleteThey may piddle through the winter & take off in the spring...or grow for you now. :)
I plan to use them as a shade crop in the greenhouse next summer.
Keep us posted.
Hi Dabney:
ReplyDeleteI think they still need a few weeks growth before I put them in the ground. This is our "summer" so I'm hoping for the best.