The Moon and the Stars

HEIRLOOM STORY (MOON & STARS WATERMELON)

I think I was 5 when I heard that if you swallowed a watermelon seed, a watermelon would grow in your stomach. Besides looking at pregnant women differently, I immediately began perfecting the art of seed-spitting, out of an abundance of caution. I have to assume that Jason Schayot of Texas, the watermelon-seed-spitting world record holder, believed this myth as a youngster, too. I mean, it no doubt took a lot of practice to reach his world-record distance of 75 feet!

Nowadays spitting watermelon seeds is somewhat of a lost summertime sport, probably due to the prevalence and popularity of seedless watermelon varieties. But not all is lost. Some old-fashioned varieties, like the ever-sweet heirloom Moon and Stars, have maintained their seeded interior and make no apologies for it. Because sometimes you just don’t mess with a sweet thing.

The Moon and Stars variety was originally introduced by Peter Henderson & Co. of New York in 1926 as “Sun, Moon and Stars”, when it sold for 20 cents per pack. With its dark green rind, speckled yellow spots and one or two larger spots, it’s not hard to figure out where its name came from. At some point later the “Sun” faded from its name and the whole variety went commercially dark for several decades as new varieties took precedence.

Thankfully, Moon and Stars was rediscovered and re-released in 1981 by Merle Van Doren in Macon, Missouri. It has since remained a staple for old-fashioned watermelon enthusiasts who don’t mind navigating a few seeds to get to the sweet prize.

HEALTH BENEFITS (BOUQUET DILL)

She’s cute and you notice she perpetually has dirt under her fingers. So on your first date you give her Bouquet Dill. She gets it, like no other girl would have, so you propose. Six weeks later you have a low-frills, big-dills garden wedding. Almost-true story.

Yes, this spice is right. And rarely wrong, if you know what you’re doing. It’s a pinky-punch of flavor, nutrition and medicinal support. Fresh bouquet dill sprigs and its seeds are blessed with an array of nutrients and antioxidants, including Vitamin A, C, D, riboflavin, manganese, folate, iron, copper, potassium, magnesium, zinc and dietary fibers. Equipped with these things, dill can play a role in supporting healthy skin, bones, digestion, respiration, reproduction, hormonal balance, vision, immune function and restful sleep. In addition, the presence of bioactive ingredient Eugenol in dill leaves have anti-diabetic properties which may play a role in controlling blood sugar levels.

It may not be a panacea, but if you find yourself in a pickle and need a health boost, a little dill might be a big deal. Look into it.

GROWING TIPS (SUMMER SQUASH)

If you plant it, they will come. “It” being summer squash and “they” being a certain vexing insect triumvirate: the cucumber beetle, the squash bug and the squash vine borer. We’re convinced that if we were to plant a summer squash plant on the moon, these three would find it by June.

Because we found our first squash vine borer floating around the garden this morning, this post will focus on this critter. These red-bodied, wasp-like moths lay reddish-brown eggs around the stem close to the soil line. The eggs hatch in about 10 days and the white caterpillar larvae bore into vines within hours. Sawdust-like frass near the base of the plant and yellow-brown excrement on the side of the stem are good signs this pest is already at work. Once they get inside and begin tunneling through the vines, expedited plant deterioration is all but certain. You may still get a small early crop or the plant may die before significant fruiting.

Problem is squash plants look great until they don’t. The wilting and yellowing can happen seemingly overnight if you aren’t paying attention. The key to managing the squash vine borer is controlling the borers before they enter the stem. Here are some proven methods of prevention and control:

• Install row covers at time of planting and sowing. Remove when flowers appear.
• Attract native parasitic flies and wasps with small-flowered herbs like dill, cilantro, or alyssum.
• Find the borer’s brown eggs and pick them off, early and often. Discard or burn.
• Apply diatomaceous earth around the stalks early to kill larvae (reapply after rain).
• Apply natural insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to the stems or inject into the stems.
• Once the borers are active in the stems, insert a thin wire with a sharpened tip from the base of the plant up the stems to kill borers. Then, mound soil over the base of the plant to cover up the damage.
• Since squash vine borers overwinter in the soil, be sure to clean up the area well after the season and consider crop rotation for the next year.

UNIQUE BEAUTY (BORAGE)

Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Borage hath an excellent spirit to repress the fulginous vapour of dusky melancholie.” We won’t pretend to understand all that, but we think Bacon was trying to say that the borage plant made him happy. And we wholeheartedly concur. There’s something charming indeed about its fuzzy chandelier elegance and its sky-blue star-shaped flowers, which surreptitiously erupt in early summer like silent daytime fireworks.

Also known as starflower, borage (Borago officinalis) is a mediterranean herb that has been in use for several thousand years. While it is typically grown commercially for its medicinal seed oil, its leaves and flowers should be given more consideration due to their edibility and health benefits. With a subtle cucumber taste and a visual appeal, these make a healthy addition to your summer salad. Borage also needs to be honored for being a honeybee and bumblebee mecca, which is how it gets its other nickname, “bee bread”.

The borage plant is one you ought to consider if you haven’t. It is a prolific seed producer and self sower, so if you are into magical perennial wild spaces, invite this beautiful friend and she’ll fill your garden with her “excellent spirit” for years to come. And when she makes her quiet return each year, make sure you give her a hero’s welcome.