Melons & Other Cucurbits: Growing and Cooking (Richard Brown)

Gardening in the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 grew exponentially as a hobby, particularly amongst those who have a good plot of land. Richard Brown is a horticultural teacher in a college, up in the North of England, in Yorkshire. The fact that he has been successfully growing melons for several years is a credit to his powers as a gardener. Melons, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers are members of the same botanical family, and you will learn how to grow them all.

Richard Brown will teach the aspirant gardener all they need to know about propagation, technique, germination, compost and growing conditions, so that the reader can successfully grow melons and bring them to the table. He will also discuss growing cucumbers and other members of the cucurbit family.

All in all, if you wish to amaze your friends by the end of the summer, this is the book you need. In fact, if you have a small front garden with a metal fence, you can grow pumpkins there and delight passers by, and maybe ripen some treasured home grown melons there also. There are also recipes for impressing your guests, showing how versatile the melon can be, from jellies and jams, to salsa and sauces.