Fruit

GARDEN CENTER IS NOW OPEN!

April 25, 2020 by Wendy Pettit

Dear Valued Customers:

We have opened our gates to the public! Store hours on Saturday are 10-6 pm. Beginning Monday the 27th, store hours will be 9-6 pm.

Please know that we take Covid-19 seriously and aim to protect YOU AND OUR EMPLOYEES. Therefore, we are doing the following:

Sanitizing common surfaces continually throughout the day. This includes shopping carts.
Installing plexiglass barriers at checkout stands.
Requesting our employees AND customers to adhere to the CDC recommendation to wear a mask or a fabric covering while in our store. A bandana can work just fine.
Requesting our employees AND customers to adhere to the CDC recommendation to maintain a 6-foot social distance as much as possible. We have 6 feet markers throughout the store. One way to figure is that one of our shopping carts is approximately 3 feet, imagine 2 carts. ***PLEASE*** when picking out your favorite plant, be aware of your spacing. We all need to be patient during this crazy time! If you need to pass someone in the aisle, walk past and do not stop to talk. Using common sense and being courteous will help everyone have a good experience.
Use CREDIT CARDS if possible.
No Public Restroom and drinking fountain.
Customers may still order via email with parking lot pick up the same day or next business day. Due to the heavy volume, no more phone orders or in-the-parking-lot orders can be accepted. All our employees are busy inside servicing the in-store customers.

Salt Lake Store: [email protected]

West Valley: [email protected]

No Garden Consulting at this time.

We appreciate your cooperation to protect our employees and our other customers. It means a lot to us.

We remind you of the other CDC recommendations:

If you are sick, PLEASE STAY HOME, get better, and then come to visit us! We want to see you healthy! Should you choose, you can email your order and have someone pick it up for you.
If you need to sneeze (we know it is ALLERGY season), sneeze into your elbow with your mask on!
Wash your hands regularly with soap & water. A liberal rubbing with hand sanitizer is the next best thing.
Remember to not touch your face if you haven’t washed your hands.

Covid-19 doesn’t have wings to fly on its own. It is transferred by contaminated hands or with droplets when we talk, sneeze or cough. Hence washing hands, wearing a mask when social distancing isn’t always possible, coughing/sneezing into an elbow, and keeping the 6-foot social distance are important, and very doable! We can do this!

THANK YOU for your cooperation and patience during this challenging time. We are grateful that we offer an essential service to the community and wish for your best success in growing your own food, beautifying the community, remaining healthy physically and mentally, and tending your gardens and yards this season.

Happy shopping and happy planting,

Western Garden Centers

Feast your eyes on this sampling of temptations!

A wall of peonies loaded with buds waiting to open

Healthy tomato plants

Ingrid Bergman Hybrid Tea Rose

Giant succulent plants

Sun-Believable Brown Eyed Susan

Iceberg Floribunda Rose

Marigolds of all varieties

Ruffled Red Echeveria

Begonias

Gorgeous petunias

Good As Gold Hybrid Tea Rose

Anna’s Promise Grandiflora Rose

Rosie the Riveter Floribunda Rose

Celestial Night Floribunda Rose

Western Gardens Plant Material April 2020

April 13, 2020 by Wendy Pettit

With the current pandemic situation, we now only do phone and email orders for pick up. On this page, please find some videos and photos showing the excellent prime material we’ve had delivered to our door. We will do our best to choose the best selection for your yard or needs. Just let us know what you want, and we will get it. You’ve trusted us for years, you can trust us now!

vivid orange and yellow ranunculus for early spring in utah

Ranunculaceous in vivid colors

Plant material as of April 13, 2020 –

SPRING COLOR ANNUALS & PERENNIALS

CLICK – Spring colder color annuals & perennials

GROUND COVERS

CLICK – Ground cover by Utah local growers

HERBS – VEGETABLES – BERRIES

CLICK – Berries – Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, pomegranate, currant, and more…

CLICK – Strawberries

CLICK – Herbs – cold-hardy herbs for April

CLICK – Herbs BASIL

CLICK – Tomatoes

CLICK – Vegetables cold crops

Peony

FLOWERING SHRUBS & ROSES

Our prime ROSES will be here by the end of April. We have a few that wintered over and just beginning to come out. Email your requests.

CLICK – Magnolias

CLICK – Peonies – beautiful shipment just waiting to plant in your yard

CLICK – Lilacs – an old-time favorite with fragrance

SMALLER SHRUBS for TEXTURE & COLOR

CLICK – Barberries

CLICK – Spireas

FRUIT TREES

Realize that the fruit trees are just now coming out of dormancy. Some look like sticks, but they are healthy and prime – ready for your yard!

CLICK – APPLES, APRICOTS, APRUMS, CHERRIES – bush or tree form

CLICK – NECTARINES, NECTAPLUM & FRUIT SALAD (varieties on same tree)

CLICK – PEACHES (including favorite “Donut”), PEACHOTUM, PLUERRY, COMBOS

CLICK – PEARS – all kinds including the Asian Pear

CLICK – PLUMS, COMBOS, PLUOTS, WALNUT

SHADE TREES

CLICK – FLOWERING CHERRIES – Beautiful selection of all types –

Special Local Note: If you haven’t seen them, hurry and witness the color and fragrance of the cherry blossoms at the Utah State Capitol. They are gorgeous! (April 12, 2020)

MORE TO COME

SEEDS, SEEDS, SEEDS

April 5, 2020 by Wendy Pettit

Several of our customers want to see what seeds we have available during this COVID-19 pandemic. Since we currently and temporarily are only taking phone or email orders with curbside pickup, we are posting photos of the seeds we currently have inside the store. Limited to supply on hand. We apologize if these photos are difficult to see, but until we get some closer photos, these will have to do. You may need to ZOOM in close to read the varieties.

Thank you again for supporting the small businesses in our community. We appreciate you shopping at Western Gardens for quality products and services during this more than unusual spring.

ORGANIC SEEDS

organic vegetable seed packages at utah garden center

Organic Vegetable Seeds – soybean, beets, huckleberry, sunberry, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, collards, cucumber, greens, kale, melons, peas, peppers, gourd, and more.

organic vegetable seed packages for natural garden in Utah

Organic Seeds (minus the bottom 2 rows) – radish, squash, tomato, pepper, beans, corn, peas, spinach, and more.

VEGETABLE SEEDS

Vegetable Seeds – Artichoke, Asparagus, Bean, Beets, Cabbage, Cardoon, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Grains, Kale, Lettuce, Melon, Okra, Onion, Peppers, Radish, and more.

Vegetable Seeds – Beans, Carrots, Collards, Corn, Greens, Melons, Peppers, Pumpkins, Rutabaga, Spinach, and more.

Vegetable Seeds – Bean, Berries, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Corn, Cowpea, Eggplant, Endive, Greens, Lettuce, Melons, Peas, Radicchio, Radish, Pumpkins, Gourds, and more.

Vegetables – Squash-Zucchini, Winter squash, Strawberries, Swiss Chard, Tomatillo, Tomatoes, Watermelon, and more.

HERB SEEDS

Herb Seeds – basil, chives, cilantro, coriander, dill, fennel, lavender, oregano, parsley, rosemary, stevia, thyme, and more.

FLOWER SEEDS

Flower Seeds – Alyssum, Amaranth, Butterflyweed, Caster beans, Daisy, Gourds, Lavender, Nasturtium, Petunia, Morning Glory, Poppy, Salvia, Snapdragon, Sunflower, Sweet Peas, Mixes, and more.

Flowers – Bachelor Buttons, Cosmos, Flax, Hollyhocks, Marigold, Nicotiana, Penstemon, Poppy, Sunflowers, Zinnia, and more.

Cookie Butter Apple Treats

October 28, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Harvesting your apples? Been to your local farmer’s market and bought a bushel of apples? Cookie Butter Apple Treats may be a new delicious treat to please the entire family while you are processing your apples for the season. This simple 4-ingredient recipe is easy and yummy. Any variety of apple tastes delicious with this cookie butter dip recipe, but we prefer Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady (whichever is the best price or whichever apple is ripe on the tree).

Cookie Butter Apple Treats Ingredients

8 Tbsp. cookie butter – room temperature (I prefer Bischoff Cookie Butter so I feel like I’m flying on an airplane)
4 Tbsp. vanilla greek yogurt
apple discs – 2-3 apples, sliced crossways
1/3 cup chocolate chips – melted (optional)
brine – 2 cups water with 3 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. salt

Directions:

In a medium bowl, add lemon juice or salt into 2 cups water. Stir and set aside.
In a second medium bowl, combine cookie butter and yogurt. Stir mixing well and set aside.
Take your whole freshly harvested apples and slice them crossway through the center of the apple. Apple seed “star” should be in the middle of your circle or disk. Remove the seeds or centers of each apple disk using a tiny round cookie cutter or a knife. Your apples now look like skinny flat discs or donuts.
Place the apple slices into the lemon or salt brine. Let soak for 1-2 minutes. (This will keep the apples from turning brown.)
Place apple slices on a clean dishcloth or paper towel. Flip them over so both sides are now somewhat dry.
Using a large piping tool, pipe the cookie butter mixture in swirls on top of the apple discs. (I like to use the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator)
Refrigerate and serve. Yum!
Optional – Melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips. (Use double boiler on stove or microwave 10 seconds at a time until the chocolate stirs smooth.) Drizzle or flip with a stick the chocolate over the apple discs. It is very wise to wear an apron for this task.

If you don’t want to do the apple disks, you can simply place the cookie butter dip in a bowl surrounded by any variety of apple wedges reading to scoop.

Cookie butter apple treats are a real crowd pleaser! And even more delicious and satisfying when you grow and harvest your own apples! Let Western Gardens teach you how to choose an apple tree for your yard. It doesn’t have to grow super big to have a delicious harvest.

Apple Varieties and How to Use Them

September 21, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Photo: Pixabay

Not all apples are the same. With over 7000 varieties of apples, it is wise to learn which types are best for what you want the apple. Some apples are more soft, some more crunchy and crispy, some mealy, some tart, some sweet, and so on. Of course, which apple you use can be all subjective, but in the world of apple connoisseurs, there are some apples more suitable for different needs.

Here is a list of some of the more popular apple varieties and how to best use them.

Take a bite of a crisp apple from the apple tree

Photo: Pixabay

Fresh Eating Apple Varieties

There are so many different tastes for different people’s likings. Here are some of the most popular.

Braeburn
Fuji
Gala
Cameo
Golden Delicious
Granny Smith (for a tart taste)
Honeycrisp
Empire
Pink Lady or Cripps Pink

Baked whole apples with cinnamon and raisins

Photo: Pixabay

Baking Apple Varieties

Popular apples for pies, apple sauce, apple butter, and baking whole.

Granny Smith (in our opinion the BEST pie apple)
Braeburn
Golden Delicious
McIntosh
Rome Beauty
Cortland
Jonagold
Jonathan
Gala
Melrose
Honeycrisp
Winesap
Cameo
Avoid these apples in pie because they become mealy with baking: Cortland, Gala, and Red Delicious

Hot apple cider tastes good on a cold fall day.

Photo: Pixabay

Cider Apple Varieties

It is proven that the best tasting cider comes from using a variety of all types of apples. One neighbor who owns a press once told me “The more varieties, the better!”

Gala
Rome Beauty
Golden Delicious
Grimes Golden
Jonathan
Red Delicious
McIntosh
Fuji
Braeburn
Jonagold
Cortland

Realize that these lists are not complete by any stretch of the imagination. Remember the 7000 plus varieties? Our shorter more concise list will be a good place to start!

As you decide what apple you want to have on your own lot, for a great harvest, be sure to check your local garden center for what apple trees do well in your area. Not all apple trees like to be planted just anywhere. Temperature plays an important role in producing a worthwhile crop. Read How to Choose an Apple Tree to learn more.

How to Choose an Apple Tree in Utah

September 21, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Learn 3 important criteria to choose the right apple tree for your yard

Photo by Pixabay

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees and the apple tree is one of the easiest fruit trees to grow. Surprisingly, how to choose an apple tree is easy to learn as well. Learn these three basic criteria as you prepare for this investment. Nearly all apple trees require a second variety close by in order to pollinate. So as you are considering, be sure to have a first and second choice.

How to Choose an Apple Tree – 3 Criteria:

Right SIZE – Choose the right size of tree for your space. You need to look at your space and maybe even measure the space so you know what you are purchasing.
Right VARIETY – Type of fruit desired. Do you want fresh eating apples, or just cooking apples? You will be investing time and effort into you tree, so they may as well be apples that will please you and serve your purpose.
Right TIME – When does it flower and when is harvest time. Apples require a second variety to cross-pollinate, therefore you want 2 apples trees that will bloom about the same time.

Tree size for the right space is important when you choose an apple tree

Photo by Pixabay

SIZES of Trees:

Standard size tree – can grow to 25-30 feet tall along Wasatch Front with a spread of 25-30 feet. You need a large area for the standard size tree. Standard trees take 4-8 years to produce mature fruit. These trees are very good in cold-climates, but be ready to prune every year.
Semi-dwarf (sometimes called half-standard) – can grow 12-15 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and same width if not pruned. This tree will have mature fruit in 3-5 years.
Dwarf or Genetic Dwarf tree or Bush trees – Can grow 6-10 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and just as wide. These trees produce mature fruit in 3-4 years.
Others: There are several other types of fruit trees. These would include espalier and columnar. See your local experts at the neighborhood nursery for what will grow in your area and for availability.

Nearly all semi-dwarf and dwarf or bush trees are grafted. Growers graft or attach the desired fruiting branch to a “rootstock” trunk. The rootstock determines how big your tree will get. Shopping your reputable local garden nursery will ensure that you are buying a quality product – good grafting onto a quality rootstock. There are different rootstocks for different areas. Your local nursery experts will only sell what will work here along the Wasatch Front, versus a big company back east somewhere that orders for their stores throughout the country.

How to choose an apple tree with the right variety of apple for your needs.

Photo by Pixabay

VARIETY of Fruit:

There are literally over 7000 apple varieties. Obviously many more than what you find at the local grocery market. Visiting a good local farmers market can expose you to other varieties you can taste before you make an investment into your own tree.

Click HERE to see a basic break down of the more popular varieties and their best uses.

Remember that your tree is your investment, so you want to produce something you will use and enjoy for years and years to come. Apples trees can live as long as 60 years or more.

The blooming time of apple trees is important to pollinate the blossoms.

Photo by Pixabay

TIMES for Blooming:

As mentioned above, nearly all apples need a pollinator apple tree in the general area. If you have neighbors that have apples trees, planting one in your yard should still give you plenty of harvest. But if you are the only one, then you may need to plant two different varieties of apples. For example, in commercial orchards, farmers often plant some golden delicious apple trees along with their main crop. Golden Delicious trees are known to be good pollinators. Be sure to choose two varieties that overlap their flowering time.

Midseason bloomers:

Crimson Beauty
Gala
Jonamac
Jonathan
McIntosh
Golden Delicious
Jonagold
and others

Late bloomers:

Fuji
Granny Smith
Rome Beauty
Winesap
and others

Poor pollinators: Jonagold and Winsesap (plus a few more), are considered poor pollinators. Don’t plan on them being your pollinating tree.

Hardiness and Cold Requirements: Be sure to check at your local garden center for those varieties that are actually hardy for your area. You need to choose an apple tree that will survive your climate year round. And on the other hand, realize that apples require a certain amount of cold temperatures to have the sugars set and the fruit to ripen properly. If the fruit doesn’t get the required coldness, the fruit will be a disappointment for all the time and effort you’ve put into your harvest.

For example, my parents planted a Red Delicious apple down south in the area of St. George, Utah. The fruit grew but never turned red and always had a mealy texture and flavor. The fruit never was like their Red Delicious apples from their trees up in northern Utah. The tree eventually was cut out.

Conclusion:

Now you know the basic criteria for how to choose an apple tree. You need to consider the right size of tree, the right type of apple, and the right blooming time for good pollination. What a great investment for your yard, yourself, and your family!

In future posts, we will go through proper planting procedures, learn about any pest control needed, and how and when to properly prune your tree. Soon you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Check out these recipes for apple goodies (submitted by Western Garden patrons):

Simple Apple Chips and Apple Pie Filling

Simple Applesauce and Apple Butter

Apples for Applesauce and Apple Butter

September 14, 2017 by Marjorie Carter

I use different apples for applesauce and apple butter. Here are ways to use a variety of apples or just Jonagold and Golden Delicious.

Applesauce

Photo by Taken at Pixabay

The best tasting applesauce is made using a variety of different apples. This is a good opportunity to do some apple swapping with neighbors! If only one apple is used for applesauce, then a sweet-tart variety is best, such as a Jonagold.

Use jonagold apples for applesauce and apple butter

Photo by Marco Roosink at Pixabay

Apples have enough natural sweetness that I avoid adding sugar. It’s really not necessary. The sauce maker is a big help if you’re trying to process lots of apples.

Photo: Canology/Norpro Click photo for link

Making applesauce is not difficult, especially if you have a sauce maker, but it can be sticky work. I know there are lots of instructions on the internet. I like this recipe by PickYourOwn because the writer explains all the steps and equipment needed.

Photo: Amazon/Cuisinart Click Photo for Link

If you don’t own a sauce maker, you can peel the apples, remove stems and seeds, then use a stick blender or transfer to a blender jar to puree. Be careful because the apples and the resulting sauce will be hot.

That’s it. Gobble it up fresh or preserve in bottles using proper canning procedures.

Apple Butter

Photo by Jeffry W at Flickr license CC 2.0

golden delicious apples for applesauce and/or apple butter

Photo: Pixabay

My golden delicious apples, when used alone, make a bland tasting sauce that I don’t really enjoy eating. However, they make great apple butter. So, if you make any applesauce that does not taste as good as you hoped it might, consider using it for apple butter. Basically, you will use about 9 quarts of applesauce, slowly cook it down in your crock pot, add a spice blend part way through the process, and end up with about 9 pints of delicious, dark brown apple butter that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful straight out of the jar. It’s also delicious on toast, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, etc., etc. The only difference is I do not add any sugar. Again, apples are sweet enough that they simply don’t need any help.

I also like to use my stick blender to puree the final product a bit more so it is as smooth as I can get it. This is purely optional but it makes for a very nice texture.

FALL is a great time to plant your own fruit trees. Your local nursery may still have some. Otherwise, wait until spring for a great selection.

Click BACK to read my CHILDHOOD MEMORIES of APPLES

Click NEXT for APPLE CHIPS and APPLE PIE FILLING

Apple Chips and Apple Pie Filling

September 14, 2017 by Marjorie Carter

We’ve eaten fresh long apple skin peels, made delicious applesauce, and rich apple butter. Here are two other ways that I use to preserve my apples – apple chips and apple pie filling. The tips I give are from my own personal experience.

Apple chips

Photo by Cook Your Life at Pixabay

I love my food dehydrator. The first time I needed one, I borrowed my Mom’s dehydrator that she bought back in the early 70s. It worked very well but it was pretty loud. I finally bought a newer dehydrator and I love how quiet it is. It also has a larger capacity than the older one, so I can process more produce per batch.

If you don’t have a food dehydrator, you can use your oven but you’ll need to be a bit more vigilant about checking on the apples so they don’t burn. The dehydrator allows you to use lower temperatures than most ovens will permit so you can ignore them for a few hours before checking to see if they’re done.

apple slices for drying into apple chips

Photo by Wolffsfa at Pixabay

There’s nothing fancy when it comes to apple chips.

The biggest trick, in my opinion, for the best apple chip is to cut the slices as thin as you can manage. That is why I like using a food processor. It allows for a consistent thickness of all the slices and it also allows you to quickly slice a lot of apples. If you have boxes of fruit to go through, speed is something that cannot be underrated. You can also use a sharp knife to cut slices as thin as you can manage.

Spread the slices out on a tray from your food dehydrator and follow your dehydrator instructions for the right setting. If using your oven, place apple slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat oven to 200 degrees and allow the apples to heat for 1.5 – 2 hours. Or, for a little faster time, heat oven to 225 and cook apples for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Optional: Before baking or placing in the dehydrator, you can sprinkle the slices with cinnamon or another mixture of spices to give them extra flavor.

Pumpkin spice mix is yummy:

2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 ½ tsp. ground cloves

Apple Pie Filling

Photo by Dusty Toes at Pixabay

I don’t really have a recipe for apple pie filling. I’m sure there are wonderful recipes around but my approach is to simply place as many sliced apples in a bowl as I plan to put in my pie, sprinkle with as much cinnamon as I think would be a good amount for a pie (a couple of teaspoons?), add a couple of teaspoons of sugar (have you noticed I don’t like adding much sugar to my apple products?), add a couple of tablespoons of flour, and then mix and place in pie crust.

Photo by Snapwire Snaps at Pixabay

If I’m planning to preserve and bottle pie filling, I only add the cinnamon before packing and processing. I save the sugar and flour to add later when I open the jars to use the apples. That way I can use the apples for a variety of baked goods. If I use them for apple crisp, I don’t add any sugar at all since the topping has enough sugar to make for a sweet dessert.

I love the fall for many reasons. The cool weather, the falling leaves… and the delicious, fresh apples!

Click BACK for how I make

APPLESAUCE and APPLE BUTTER

Favorite Apple Varieties and How To Preserve Them

September 14, 2017 by Marjorie Carter

Welcome Apple Lovers! Glad you dropped in.

I love apples! There is such a wide variety of apple trees to plant and they are all delicious in their own right. As a mother, I now used different apple varieties for different occasions. I have several favorite apple varieties, but let me first share where my first love of apples began. Maybe you had similar experiences.

Photo by Sladkovskaivka at Pixabay

Photo by ChrisWoehri at Pixabay

My memories are vivid of sitting at my mom’s feet as she sat on the porch and peeled apples for apple pie. I loved to pick out and eat the longest pieces of apple peel from her scrap bowl.

We moved to Virginia when I was in 4th grade and we would go apple picking as a family in the crisp fall weather. We’d then have boxes and boxes of apples sitting in the garage and I loved picking out the biggest apple from each variety and eating it plain or with peanut butter.

One time I ate so many apples in one sitting that I made myself sick. In fact, I did this more than once. For some people, that would result in an aversion to the food that made them sick, but I love apples so much that this was not a deterrent for me.

The mature fruit trees, including Golden Delicious Apples and a Jonagold type of apple, were one of the reasons we purchased the home.

Photo by Kapa65 at Pixabay

The first year there, both trees produced around a bazillion apples each. We basically made apple sauce and pie filling from so many apples. We not only used the fresh picked apples, but also the still usable windfall apples. In the years since, we’ve managed to expand the variety of things we do with our apples.

Our favorite preserving methods are: apple sauce, apple butter, dried apple rings (apple chips), and apple pie filling.

Some useful tools for different apple recipes:

hand powered food strainer/sauce maker
food processor with slicing blade
food dehydrator
crock pot
stick blender.

Of course, if all you have is a knife and a large pot, you can make it work!

Photo by JackMac34 at Pixabay

Read further for a few tips for success and a couple of the recipes we use for enjoying this amazing fruit well after the last one has been plucked from the tree. I include the tools we use for making them.

Click NEXT for my favorite apples and methods for

APPLESAUCE and APPLE BUTTER and APPLE CHIPS and APPLE PIE FILLING

3 Simple Tips for Picking Ripe Cantaloupe

August 22, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

If you’re like me, you can use some tips for picking ripe cantaloupe, because it can be hard to tell when it’s ready to eat!

I find it disappointing to be preparing a cantaloupe for dinner, only to take one taste and it is bland and flavorless. I’ve learned my lesson and discovered how to choose or pick a cantaloupe that is ripe and ready to eat. Now when I’m either picking fruit at the store or from my own garden, there are three simple tips to remember to help you wisely spend your money and time.

Follow these simple tips to choose a melon that is ripe and ready to eat.

LOOK – Cantaloupe should be a nice golden yellow color. Don’t pick cantaloupe that are greenish. They are not ready! Don’t worry about rough spots that may be on the outside of your cantaloupe. They don’t mean anything as to the ripeness.
FEEL – You should be able to feel the edges of the outer skin. A smooth skin means it is not ripe. The flower end (the end not attached to the vine) is soft. You should be able to press it gently in. If it springs back out after pressing, your cantaloupe is ready.
SMELL – Place the flower end or the “button” of the cantaloupe just under your nose and take a whiff. A strong sweet aroma indicates the cantaloupe is ready. Sometimes you will smell the strong aroma without smelling the button. If it doesn’t have a scent, don’t pick it or buy it. It is not sweet.

Cantaloupe from the store or market can be yummy, but my favorite is freshly picked from my garden. Now when I eat cantaloupe, it is like a little slice of heaven. Picked right off the vine, it is heavy, fragrant, juicy, and still warm from sitting in the sun. I love to garden!

TIP FOR GROWING: Be sure to begin your seeds indoors early spring so you can have good healthy larger plants when it is warm enough outside. Melons like a long hot growing season!