They say that one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure – or, perhaps, another flock’s feast.
Rotten watermelon or tasty treat – it’s all in the eye of the beholder
I’m growing watermelons for the first time. I had 2 small melons on the vine and then the deluge hit. Too much rain in too little time. The vines looked amazing – they perked up (they’d been a bit droopy even though I watered them daily) but I think it overwhelmed the fruit. Yesterday I saw that the smaller melon was split on the bottom and rotting. I’m sure it burst from too much water.
Which meant it was trash (aka compost).
Though I’m not a stickler about use by dates and I certainly eat veggies showing a bit of unsightly wilting, I do have my limits and this rotting melon blew past that line. But since it’s my first watermelon “harvest”, I still wanted to see what it looked like on the inside. Sure ‘nuf, it looked like a watermelon (if small and pale) and it was so wet it was like cracking open a watermelon smoothie.
I held the 2 halves down to my chickens to see what they thought. Well, well, well, they thought I had lost my mind if I considered this ambrosia trash. First they pecked out and ate the seeds, then they drank the juice, then they consumed the flesh, then they picked and pecked and sampled the rind, then they wanted another one 😮
Definitely a tasty treat
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 
I had the same thing happen, burst watermelon, overgrown pithy squash, funky squishy pumpkins they love it all. My girls also would go nuts over the corn stalks I cut down after harvest, they would fight over who got to the leaves first.
Your poor girls! We cut the leaves off the corn stalks, blend them and mix them with yogurt to make them easier to eat and tastier. That’s what we did this morning with the skin of the watermelon (zero flesh left after their feeding frenzy). Do you think just maybe we spoil our chooks a bit too much?
I used to think I did. 😉
Birds in my yard pretty much the same, will eat anything no matter the condition. They ain’t proud.
🙂 I like that – they ain’t proud – and neither am I. You should see the appearance of some of the things I take out of my garden and jam down my gullet! Let’s just say I am a bit more selective when entertaining (human) guests.
We grew watermelons for the first time last year, but we had problems keeping the chickens out of the garden. They ate nearly everyone before we had the chance to pick any. It’s by far one of their favorite treats. When we buy watermelons we throw them the rinds and they obliterate them in seconds. Also, as far as rotting, I’ve had similar problems and I’ve heard that laying down hay or a good mulch will help. Hope your able to harvest some goods ones!
Oh oh, Bronwyn often jumps into the veggie garden. She typically goes for brassicas or digs up any fresh seeds (which reminds me, I have to get more fennel in the ground) but so far she’s left the watermelon alone. I hope by breaking one open for her she hasn’t figured out what’s inside that big ball.
That’s a good idea about the mulch. There’s some in the bed but I think I’ll put an extra handful under the melon.