The Little Watermelon That Could

One of the joys of composting if you are the kind of person who loves surprises in the garden, are the self-planting visitors.  People say not to put seeds in the compost for precisely that reason. But then where would be the fun?

This is the story of a little watermelon that we did not plant and that went on to give us huge juicy watermelons -- four in total. One, and then after we harvested it, three more.

This little guy planted itself at the foot of a small grapefruit tree and in the hottest, sunniest part of the garden, against flagstone, where the temperature must easily reach 110 degrees for months at a time. But no matter, our wee lad was not discouraged.







First flower and a friendly visitor.

First fruit, all fuzzy and tender...


and then starting to grow...



and grow...



and GROW!



The hardest part was to know when to pick. We agonized for days and googled the hell out of it:Was it the stem that shriveled? Was it the size? The spot underneath that should turn yellow or ocre? What was yellow? What was ocre? Was it the proper shade of ocre?

Until a visiting friend of ours, who lives in the country of Vermont, took one look at it and said, "It's ready."

We said, "but how do you know," "but... it's... just... the stem... the color... the hollowness..."

He just bent down and picked it.

And it was perfect.