I love melons, they are among my favorite fruits, and one that I've always wanted to grow. While my parents have a sizable garden, we've never grown melons of any sort. My Dad always has a convenient excuse for why he doesn't grow certain things, and in this case, he was quick to blame the raccoons. He said their sense of smells allows them to wait until the melons are just ripe and then they attack without mercy. I can see how this would be a big disappointment.

My thinking is that the competitors are just another challenge that has to be overcome. And there are few things that give me greater satisfaction than overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges. Surely foiling a raccoon couldn't be too hard. After doing a bit of Internet research, I find that the raccoon problem is real and that there is no shortage of creative solutions.

To set the stage for our current battle, I was eating a store-bought cantaloupe in June and decided that I'd like to see how many of the cantaloupe seeds would germinate. I was surprised to find that they had a viability rate of over 70%. Again, my Dad discouraged my efforts, telling me that it was too late to plant them. I knew that for optimal results, he was correct, I was at least 30 days too late in planting the seedlings, but with such a huge number of seedlings, I decided to plant some around the house and see what happened.

Fast forward 60 days and we find this on our back walkway:



This vine has grown quite large, and already has three melons at various stages of growth. At least one should reach maturity, and my plan is to make sure that the raccoons and rodents don't beat me to the harvest. My goal is to create a cage that can sit on top of the melons that can be weighed down, and I also plan to sprinkle cayenne pepper around the fruits. Still, I shouldn't underestimate my enemy, raccoons are very crafty, very adaptive, and very determined. Their front feet have opposable thumbs which allow them to be quite good at grabbing, moving, and opening containers. Any cage will have to be heavy enough to prevent them from removing it. My hope is that the cayenne pepper will be enough to repel their interest, so I view the cage as my last line of defense.

Updated September 24th:



While it might seem to be overkill, the cantaloupe cage was successful. The cantaloupe was eaten by my family, and while it was satisfying, it lacked sweetness due to its late ripening. Next year I will be better prepared for timely planting and raccoon defense.