One of the most recognizable, medicinal and useful plants, foraging for mullein is easy and fun!

Source: Foraging for Mullein

Not only a stunning color, purple shoulders with a red bottom,  but the taste is exceptional. I’ve had two off my plant so far and it is consistently sweet and juicy. Generally, red tomatoes aren’t high on the top of my list for flavor but this one is very good. The plant isn’t a monster, in fact quite well behaved. It is about the size of a tennis ball, the inside is dark red, almost a smoky red and if you cut it on a white cutting board, the juice is purple. I will have this in my garden next year.

Here are some pictures of our homegrown cantaloupe. We’ve tried several times to grow melons in our garden. Spokane Valley used to be know for the fields of Hearts of Gold melons that they grew everywhere. I don’t know if the climate changed or what but we had no success at all. The plants grew but we had nothing ever get any bigger than a tennis ball!

This year I started several varieties in late April. I have a hunch that the extreme heat we’ve had (apparently 27 days of over 90 degree heat) caused them to flourish. These are the first to ripen, 4 of them, and they range from tennis ball to softball size. Their taste is incredibly sweet. First time in my life I’ve grown my own melons. First time!

The varieties we are growing are Oka Bizard (shown below), Dove honeydew, Ambrosia, Hearts of Gold, Hales (a volunteer in the greenhouse) and Inspire. I will let you know how those taste

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