What looks like a watermelon...but isn't?

[jinman]

Don't know why it was in the food plot mix but nothing has messed with these at all ...... except me. The article I read says that they now grow wild in some southern states.

Bird I have no idea why Dad had heard of them either. He's always gardened, and been an outdoor type so he must have encountered them somehwere.

There are still 4 or 5 melons in the field but so far there is nothing about these things that tempts me to make preserves out of them. I think they will most likely end up as targets.

They say that people with Alzheimer's may not remember what they did just 15 minutes ago, but they will and can remember vividly things that happened in their youth. That's the way it was with my Mother.

Now. . . I don't think I've heard anything about citrons since I was a kid, and I have no idea where I came up with the name from my memory. Perhaps. . .nah. . .I still remember where my cold beer is.

I think the seeds may have been there because some animals will eat them that you don't have. I'd bet if Eddie Walker had them growing around his feeder, the hogs would clean out the citrons. Raccoons also love melons, but they need something to break them open. Even coyotes will eat melons for water when it gets dry. Anyhow, I seem to remember my father and uncle talking about growing them for hog food. The plants also have many blooms like watermelons, squash, and pumpkins to attract lots of bees.

George, my guess as to why none of your wildlife has eaten the citrons is that the animals haven't "discovered" them yet. Ask your Dad what he thinks. He may have the best answer yet. I remember taking a walk through my woods and across fields with my dad. He amazed me with his knowledge of native trees, bushes, and grass types. We seem to have lost some of our knowledge of those kinds of things, and it's a shame.

 

[HappyCPE]

This link isn't exactly what you have there but it's similar.
Colorado Preserving or Red Seeded Citron Watermelon Heirloom Seeds - Rareseeds.com Catalog
Oh, free plug for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, my favorite seedsmen!

 

[N80]

We have patches of those around the weekend place. Get rid of them quickly. They will come back and come back and come back. More and more each time.

I guess it will dpend on how much they explode when I shoot them! Might scatter seeds everywhere.

And for those who like to shoot, a frozen melon makes for a much more dramatic impact!

 

[N80]

They say that people with Alzheimer's may not remember what they did just 15 minutes ago, but they will and can remember vividly things that happened in their youth. That's the way it was with my Mother.

Yep, dad can still tell great stories about his days as a revenuer....of course we've heard them all....but he can still tell them.

I'd bet if Eddie Walker had them growing around his feeder, the hogs would clean out the citrons. Raccoons also love melons, but they need something to break them open.

I think you're right, the hogs would love them. Fortunately its been two years since we last saw hogs. (Neighbors did extensive trapping and it worked!)

Anyhow, I seem to remember my father and uncle talking about growing them for hog food.

It is pretty remarkable how fast they grow and how far the vines from a single plant grow. I can see where they would make easy and economical hog food.

I remember taking a walk through my woods and across fields with my dad. He amazed me with his knowledge of native trees, bushes, and grass types. We seem to have lost some of our knowledge of those kinds of things, and it's a shame.

Dad always knew all the tree types. He was never a farmer but his dad ran a hardware store from the 1920's up through the 60's and they sold all the agriculture supplies and served as a feed & seed to some extent. Plus he used to work on my great uncles farm/ranch a good bit. So he's always known that sort of stuff. Its gut wrenching to see someone like that fading away, but we're blessed that the progression has been fairly slow.

 

[scott_vt]

We have patches of those around the weekend place. Get rid of them quickly. They will come back and come back and come back. More and more each time.

Good Mornin George,
Im glad you finally posted some pics of it ! That thing really does look like a small watermelon, but after reading Robs' comments Im thinking you better get rid of them before they resead and spread !

 

[RobJ]

I guess it will dpend on how much they explode when I shoot them! Might scatter seeds everywhere.

And for those who like to shoot, a frozen melon makes for a much more dramatic impact!

Nature will do the work for you... remember you didn't plant them. but they'll dry out, then you'll disk, and the cycle continues!! Sort of like goat weed, johnson grass, etc.

 

[6string]

Sounds like a cooshaw,coushaw?(not sure about the spelling) I remember my grandmother telling me about them. Some folks would plant them in or near their watermelon patches so when someone "raided" their melon patch they pick some of thes by mistake. She said they were very tough.

 

[TimC]

My father-in-law grew up on a Farm in South GA, along one of the routes that was used for tourist travel towards FL. Along the road they used to grow a garden with various usual garden fare, Tomatoes, Peppers, Watermelons, etc. Regularly during the picking season cars would pull off of the road and help themselves to the garden. Several times my Grandfather-in-law chased yankees out of the garden with a shotgun, or that's what he says...

Finally, when he'd had enough, he moved the garden to the back of the house, plowed everything under, and planted a nice looking watermelon patch... Full of Citrons...

After this, instead of getting angry in the Tourons would stop and raid the garden he'd just sit back and laugh.....

 

[marimus]

My father-in-law grew up on a Farm in South GA, along one of the routes that was used for tourist travel towards FL. Along the road they used to grow a garden with various usual garden fare, Tomatoes, Peppers, Watermelons, etc. Regularly during the picking season cars would pull off of the road and help themselves to the garden. Several times my Grandfather-in-law chased yankees out of the garden with a shotgun, or that's what he says...

Finally, when he'd had enough, he moved the garden to the back of the house, plowed everything under, and planted a nice looking watermelon patch... Full of Citrons...

After this, instead of getting angry in the Tourons would stop and raid the garden he'd just sit back and laugh.....

Ha ha, that is brilliant. I heard a similar story from my dad. When he was a kid, they used to raid a watermelon farm nearby. The farmer got tired of all the kids stealing watermelons, so he did the same thing. Planted the first couple of rows along the roadside with citron melons.

Put an end to the melon theft.

 

[N80]

Yesterday I asked my Dad how he knew what a citron was. Same story! When he was younger he and a friend 'borrowed' a couple of watermelons from a patch that they found only to discover that they were citrons. Sounds like a common experience. Poetic justice in the form of a nearly inedible look-alike!

 

[justbrowsing]

I know I'm really late to the party, but I believe it is a Citron. I found this page helping an 80 year old customer try to remember the name of this fruit. He grew up in Alabama and said local watermelon farmers would plant Citrons in their fields with watermelons to deter thieves. He said the average Joe couldn't tell them apart. He also said that Citrons were not tasty, but he would pickle them and said they were good like that.

 

[k0ua]

They sound like they would make excellent ammunition to me in a pseudo punkin chunking contest. Since they are more round and way tougher than a watermelon, they would not likely "pie" in a high velocity air cannon. Or a centrifugal machine either. So grow them as ammo. OR use them as targets. :thumbsup: In any case, they sound like fun in the making...

 

[Oaktree]

I planted a food plot this spring with one of those commercial food plot mixes. It had sorghum, soy beans, sunflowers, millet, cow peas, etc etc.

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by a "food plot"? To me it would mean a vegetable garden, but clearly that's not what what you have. Never heard the term before.

 

[k0ua]

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by a "food plot"? To me it would mean a vegetable garden, but clearly that's not what what you have. Never heard the term before.

You don't deer hunt? Food plots are planted in areas easily accessible to animals. Often the things planted are designed to feed cervids (deer like animals) and often are designed to provide nutrition to these animals to speed growth of their bodies and antlers.

 

[stuckmotor]

Citrons used to grow wild at my family's old homeplace in Clarendon County. My memory is that they look like small Charleston grays while the one in the picture reminded me more of a small a crimson sweet. Oh well, maybe citrons come in different varieties.

 

[N80]

What an old thread this is. They were in fact citrons. I came to find out that one of the dried fruits in traditional Christmas fruit cake is candied citron. I'm one of the few who really likes a good homemade, rum soaked fruit cake......but not enough to bother with growing citrons. You can still but the candied citron.

 

[Oaktree]

You don't deer hunt? Food plots are planted in areas easily accessible to animals. Often the things planted are designed to feed cervids (deer like animals) and often are designed to provide nutrition to these animals to speed growth of their bodies and antlers.

Never heard of that before. Around here deer are pests enough as it is, no need to try and attract them.

You're right, I'm not a hunter. Don't have problems with others doing it, just has no appeal to me at all.

 

[k0ua]

Never heard of that before. Around here deer are pests enough as it is, no need to try and attract them.

You're right, I'm not a hunter. Don't have problems with others doing it, just has no appeal to me at all.

Some plant food plots for turkeys and other game birds too.

 

[DrRod]

What an old thread this is. They were in fact citrons. I came to find out that one of the dried fruits in traditional Christmas fruit cake is candied citron. I'm one of the few who really likes a good homemade, rum soaked fruit cake......but not enough to bother with growing citrons. You can still but the candied citron.

I believe that the candied citron in fruit cake is made from the citrus citron not the melon type. And have we all learned more than we ever thought possible about this obscure fruit? You just have to love this site.

 

[stuckmotor]

I believe that the candied citron in fruit cake is made from the citrus citron not the melon type. And have we all learned more than we ever thought possible about this obscure fruit? You just have to love this site.

X2
For years I'd thought the citron in fruit cake was the melon type but after this thread, I'm not so sure.