Kiwano Horned Melon

 

As part of our ongoing culinary experiments, I couldn't resist when I saw a Kiwano Horned Melon at our local grocery store. At over $5 for a single piece of fruit many would consider it prohibitively expensive by western standards, but I'm sure an exotic piece fruit from New Zealand during their winter would be prove difficult to get to South-central Texas ripe and ready to eat.

Of course, “ready to eat” may prove to be a stretch for some folks. There's no getting around it: the inside of the horned melon looks and feels like plant boogers. Bravely, I scooped a full spoonful and ate it. My brain told me that it was fruit, but my mouth told me that I definitely must have coughed up something. Although it tastes mildly like cucumber, I had to “chew” on it for a surprisingly long time before I could convince my throat that it was time to swallow. The only texture I could find in the fruit was from the seeds, and when I looked it up online after eating, many sites I visited said most folks recommend trying not eating them. I thought this made about as much sense as washing your hands with soap and trying not to make bubbles- its not going to happen.

I did, however, find that a large chunk of horned melon is a great way to get people to to avoid you. I saw a few faces poking around the edge of the corner, but as soon as I offered to share they'd all quickly disappear once again.

In the end, I don't think I can really recommend the Kiwano Horned Melon. Although I managed to eat a large portion of it, I eventually succumbed to the texture as well, and that's saying something! For the price, its just too weird to physically eat and there are many other exotic fruits that are just as weird but much, much more palatable. Cheers!

3-in-1 Angel Trumpet

Its getting to that time of year where everything is starting to show its true colors. The roses are blooming profusely, the hibiscus and lilies would like to take over, our various crape myrtles are all blooming, and the pomegranate tree has even decided to flower for a 2^nd time this year. Of all the flowers in our garden, one of the flowers I'm keeping an eye on the most is our 3-in-1 Angel Trumpet. It has grown vigorously all spring and is even starting to produce its own flowers like the one shown above. However, I've noticed that its leaves have been yellowing and dropping, and the bottom half or so of the plant is now mostly stem. Researching suggests that it could be too much water, or too little. It could be too much fertilizer or it could be not enough fertilizer. It could be insects and disease or it could be the solution used to treat insects and disease. It could be that it's too cold at night or it could be that its too hot during the day. According to the experts, just about everything will damage an Angel Trumpet- even tobacco! I've decided that with my recent success nursing the Midnight Marvel Hibiscus bank from the brink, I am going to spend extra time and attention nursing this plant to full health. Various online sources also suggested that they make better indoor plants than outdoor, and I am going to take a stab at proving them wrong.

Updated album and the triumphant return of an old friend

If you have been following the blog for any amount of time, you may remember the post I made about trying to save our Midnight Marvel Hibiscus. The picture above is one we took this morning- what you can't see is that behind the giant red flower are almost a dozen more waiting to open. The leaves are a crimson purple color and the flowers are easily 7-8" wide. If you'd like to see more of our gardens, click on this link. We just added more pictures.