Charentais Melons!

These french beauties are amazing! They are super fragrant - we grew them in a high tunnel on the Vernon site and just walking up the farm you would be overwhelmed with the sweet smell. Unfortunately, they didn't taste all that wonderful. We think it's because they were over watered and should have been pruned down to one leader. When we went out to Michael's farm on Salt Spring we tried some of his and oh goodness, they were delicious! 

I learned from a Parisian chef that used to come buy from us at the Granville Farmer's Market that you should pick a melon that both smells sweet and has a soft spot at the blossom end of the fruit. He would come each week and pick up each one, smelling and gently squeezing. 

Watering

Learning about watering was tricky – I’ve learned that there are so many variables – your soil type, your growing method, your climate, the varieties you choose. For our farm, we were growing in raised containers on parking lots which meant the beds would heat up quickly and water would evaporate faster, as well as drain out faster. We also had soil that although rich in organic matter would drain rather easily, which means more frequent watering.

Ideally you want one inch of rain per week. Generally, if you dig down to 5 inches deep, you want to always have 75% moisture – if it falls to 50% moisture then you have a problem. Adding more organic material can help with moisture retention and watering more frequently may be required.

At the farm we would use the overhead sprinkler on our greens and leave it on for 30 minutes at a time. In the hot hot summer we would leave it on for 45 minutes as we were not only watering but trying to also cool down the plants. We would also use the sprinkler to water beds that were freshly seeded.

Drip irrigation with our pepper transplants.

The entire farm is hooked up with drip irrigation and we would especially use the drip for watering transplants and plants that don’t like to get their leaves wet such as the cucurbit family (squashes, melons, cucumbers.) With drip, we would water every second day and because we were growing in containers with loose soil, were able to reach down the box to see that the soil was in fact saturated before moving to the next block.

Consistent watering is really important – especially during the hot summer with such intense heat. Often split radishes or carrots are the result of over watering and inconsistent watering. Same with blossom end rot or split tomatoes.