Square Watermelons

Brendan starts with ...
I've seen this before, but someone sent it to me again. They grow them in a square container. This is so they don't roll around in the fridge, and stack better?

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adamus says...
Just when you think you have a handle on reality.!!
The sixties were very good to some people.

amanda says...
Just heard about the exploding melons this morning KjW! Looked up the MSDS for the chemical they are using to hasten ripening:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/DisplayMSDSContent.do

snottiegobble says...
Look what happens when we f---- with nature by adding chemicals! These days everyone wants to make a bigger buck using whatever means! Its a hard lesson, but next year these Chinese farmers will know better!!

KjW says...
While I'm at it, I thought I'd share this with yous.

This Champagne melon was picked in Dec 09, I kept it and cut it in Dec 10, it was the only one of a couple-a-dozen that lasted that long, some lasted 6mths before they went rotten

It was starting to dry out and get a bit slimey around the seed area, but the centre of it looked normal

Surprisingly it was edible but had lost all taste and sweetness

I only ate enough to taste it, but kept a lot of the seeds from it

GREAT tasting melons when fresh tho...TMO

Cheers
KjW..aka Ken

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Julie says...
A bit off-topic, but re food from China: read ALL labels carefully in the supermarket.

A friend bought split peas last week, and only found they were from China when she got home. I was buying walnuts yesterday, and looked at the label of the ones on special at IGA. Chinese! I didn't buy them of course, but had to buy from the USA - don't we grow enough in Oz? I am being super aware from now on.

amanda says...
To be fair - that chemical used on the exploding watermelons is also used here....

Jason says...
The only way to change stuff like that is bypass the government and go straight to the companies pockets.

Only buy stuff that says 100% Australian grown etc or ring them up and ask to be sure. I generally only buy stuff from ALDI when I can now, it's not supporting Australia 100% but more of their stuff is Australian than safeway/woolies is and the rest if European, which I'd rather send my money to than the US or China.

Not just for political reasons and that I think the Germans are more responsible peoples but also because the European union has much more modern laws and bans on dodgy additives in foods and phosphates in washing detergent and ALDI stuff has to pass those laws

Chris says...
I guess Aldi hasn't made it out west, Amanda!
Don't be so sure about Chinese food and Aldi, Jason. I was in there the other day and I was stunned to see fresh snow peas from China. A lot of other goods there are also Chinese origin, from rice crackers, water crackers to tinned baking apples.

Jason says...
There's a strawberry farm about 5 minutes away so I don't have that problem (being 5 minutes away they grow just as easy in the garden anyway). I bought some mandarins today just so I could have some sweet ones because I have to race the birds and eat mine pretty sour :0 but after tasting some commercial ones, sweet sure but seemed like 99% water compared to mine which are LOADED with flavours :0 (just a bit sour)

Jason says...
Mine go really sweet eventually, I have a a tree "daisy" that tastes like mandarin jam if I can leave it on the tree long enough but the birds will have eaten them all by then :). Confusing tang with sour... Well perhaps they start sour, then move to tang then move to sweet. They are "tang" right now maybe :) but two months ago were definitely sour and the birds go for them at that stage so I have to as well :).

I used to know lots about strawberry's and which types taste best but I've forgotten now, I seem to remember the types that only fruit once for a short time of the year taste best (typical :) )

snottiegobble says...
Sorry Amanda, but our beautiful Redcap parrots love mandarins, but hell who is going to deny them a few? Not me?

Brad says...
the 28s took my first crop of sunrise limes. not that I thought they'd have seen them before.

and since we're in a multi conversation thread, Hokowase is my recommended tasting strawberry. I still want to try Cambridge rival but haven't found it

BJ says...
The big sulphur crests eat my passionfruit vine. Not so much the fruit, but they look for specific points on the vine that they can sever that will cause the most damage. Im not too bothered though. Too many passionfruits.

amanda says...
yup - did try the hokowase from Bunnies. I am sure they had cambridge rival too - I will check next week Brad. I planted quite a few and lost track of the varieties.
Diggers has/had it tho' Brad.

Don't mean to sound depressing - but what is happening to our fruit? - it's either over the top sweet with no 'complexity' of flavours (eg: apples) or impossible to buy the fruit (eg: loquats, cape gooseberries) or imported and not fresh (eg: oranges) or utterly tasteless and/or gassed (eg: tomatoes, strawberries, plums)

My 7yr olds favourite apple is a Granny Smith - would u believe. She won't eat a lot of fruit from the shop (eg nectarines) because she says they are too sweet..!? She adores our home grown mandarins - despite the seeds even. It's been a revelation for me to re-experience the taste of fruit thru her taste buds - I thought it was just me (having been a part of a generation that enjoyed much better tasting fruit n veg than today)

I am sure it's not just the breeding - I suspect it may also be skimping on fertilisers and pumping everything with water (to increase the weight)...refrigerating past season and gassing...a whole gamut. Thumbs down! ;-)

amanda says...
haha - there u go Jason (I only have one kid - so didn't know that!) Yes - just got some fantastic new seasons ones yesterday - looks a bit different to the usual dark green one - smaller and more a lime colour? Superb flavour, juicy and crunchy...mmmm :)