Cantaloupe Heaven

At some point this season I experienced what I considered the "perfect" cantaloup.  It was deeeeeelicious.  Wekesa and I purchased it from an organic Black farmer from South GA who said he was born as a child onto hundreds of acres.  This probably had it taste even better.

I decided to follow my heart and just plant it.  Many voices resonated in my head.  First, the "you're not a Brown voice." Growing up, it was the Browns who grew great watermelons.  Almost like what I have had our Malian instructor Baba Maiga teach us about our Songhoy culture:  certain families were known and good at fishing, farming, music, etc.  In fact Maiga would never sing when he played a guitar in public, as he was not known for that, and in his culture he should bring attention, fame and funds to the family that was.

Anyway, I digress.  I decided that watermellons and other mellons took the greatest, richest soil and expertise that the Browns had, and that I did not.

"You don't get enough sun."  I don't.  I only get about 4.5 hours at most when a minimum of 6 is probably needed for mellons and any other fruit-setting and root vegetables.

Still, the voice of "you like this mellon; if you could produce another like this one, wouldn't you love it and won't your children love them for generations to come" won out.

OK, and look at it -- Just doing what seeds do when we life aligns -- living out its destiny.

I will keep you posted, and I am claiming that I will take a picture of a beautiful delicious cantaloupe sliced and ready to eat.

Grow where you Are: My Front yard Edible Landscape

EDIBLE LANDSCAPE

I grew up eating mostly food that my parents grew.  So, when someone says they "can't grow food," I don't quite understand that.  For me, you just do a little everyday work along with God, nature, the universe and you get blueberries.  I love blueberries and love picking them from my front yard.

Very happy that I listened to my "little voice within" which said back to me one day --as I was lamenting that there were too many trees in my backyard and that I didn't have the money to cut them all down to make a garden there -- "USE WHAT YOU HAVE."  The space I had at the time was a front yard which got a little more sun than the back
yard.  I've been at it now for some years, and I am so proud to harvest so many great herbs regularly:  sage, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, spearmint, stevia.

My blueberries continue to increase.  This year, I am trying cantaloupe for the first time.  I also have tomatoes and cucumbers.

Speaking of where you are, I believe that my back deck gets pretty good sun too, so I am growing some things in containers. Yes, grow where you are and trust that your good intention and a little bit of work will go a long way.  Ase.'