What was the reason they did that?
New land, rich and fertile. That`s all I can figure. I never thought to ask any of my Elders.
What was the reason they did that?
a new field will always have the least weeds it's first year.Around home back in the day, a new field or a field that had laid fallow for several years was almost always planted in watermelons for the first crop.
Oh yes nic, new ground was very fertile. That's why the new ground grew the best tobacco plants rich and fertile ground is always good to grow stuff in. I have seen many gardens planted in the new ground as well, they produced a good crop of vegetables without a lot of store bought fertilizer.New land, rich and fertile. That`s all I can figure. I never thought to ask any of my Elders.
There are many times less weeds and diseases in new ground.Oh yes nic, new ground was very fertile. That's why the new ground grew the best tobacco plants rich and fertile ground is always good to grow stuff in. I have seen many gardens planted in the new ground as well, they produced a good crop of vegetables without a lot of store bought fertilizer.
So i guess the old timers would use new ground in the same way people put things outta rotation with a cover crop now.There are many times less weeds and diseases in new ground.
That’s one waySo i guess the old timers would use new ground in the same way people put things outta rotation with a cover crop now.
Yes sir, and I like that kind of refreshment just about anytime. One day decades ago some friends of mine and I were Dove hunting on a farm about a half mile from our homes. We finished our Dove hunt and were walking thru thigh high grass heading out to the road when I stepped on something that almost caused me to fall down. I took my foot and pushed the grass back and there was a big Charleston Gray watermelon hidden there. The man who owned the farm had harvested his melons several weeks before that September day but he somehow missed the one I stepped on. That melon was sweet, cool and delicious we were lucky to find it. But that wasn't the first time I had found a nice watermelon in a grown over watermelon patch around where I was raised.As I understand it new ground has built up organics from the vegetation that has died and degraded during the "laid by years".
I plant crimson sweets. It amazes me how you go out in the field during a hot cloudless day in July cut a melon and it's cool inside. Not cold but very refreshing.
That melon served a very good purposeYes sir, and I like that kind of refreshment just about anytime. One day decades ago some friends of mine and I were Dove hunting on a farm about a half mile from our homes. We finished our Dove hunt and were walking thru thigh high grass heading out to the road when I stepped on something that almost caused me to fall down. I took my foot and pushed the grass back and there was a big Charleston Gray watermelon hidden there. The man who owned the farm had harvested his melons several weeks before that September day but he somehow missed the one I stepped on. That melon was sweet, cool and delicious we were lucky to find it. But that wasn't the first time I had found a nice watermelon in a grown over watermelon patch around where I was raised.
Indeed it did, my friends and I ate our fill of it and left some for a Raccoon or Possum come nightfall.That melon served a very good purpose
The all within walking distance of home is the best part to me!Indeed it did, my friends and I ate our fill of it and left some for a Raccoon or Possum come nightfall.
YES! Those are the melons I was talking about - thanks!The ones in South Georgia are called citrons. Although not native to this country they grow wild in cultivated fields. Hogs, cows, and deer eat them and the vines.
That said I do prefer "seedless" watermelons. Also put table salt on my melons.My favorite watermelon is the one sitting in front of me. Never gave much thought to the name. I have probably ate most of them available here in Georgia, and can honestly say I have never noticed much difference between them.
What I had always heard is that watermelons are very hard on the soil. That is they are able to pull most of the nutrients out of the ground so it is virtually impossible to recharge the soil enough to grow melons as successive crops on the same field.What was the reason they did that?