Spinella Farm

Every year as I browse the seed stands at the local big box or hardware store, something always catches my eye and I say, "I've got to try and grow that!"

This year it was the Burpee catalog that provided the impetus. I've always been a fan of growing heirloom watermelons and muskmelons. They are tricky because of their susceptibility to disease. But when you come through with a good crop they are delicious and fun to sell.

Anyway, browsing the Burpee catalog I came across a watermelon called the Carolina Cross. It purports to grow watermelons up to 200 pounds! I don't know if that will happen but the possibility of it brought out the P.T. Barnum in me so I ordered a couple of packets and planted them. So we shall see.

My neighbor and another grower the next town over are growing our tomatoes for this year. But I still can't get that itch out of my system for growing tomatoes so I seeded in some Box Car Willies and Brandywines and will raise them on a whim. Our customers love big tomatoes and really don't care if they are heirloom or not. Personally, nothing beats a good Brandywine for taste.

We received 3/4" of an inch of rain yesterday. The weeds loved it. But at this time of year they like to grow as much as the cultivated plants. I can't blame them. But they should understand that as much as they like this kind of wet weather, so do I. Why? Because it makes weeding, especially that troublesome crab grass, a heckuva lot easier to pull out, roots and all.