I get volunteer plants, most of them unwanted. From the masses of weeds to the violas that pop up everywhere and are occasionally allowed to live the balcont garden has its share of volunteers. My aunty gets a lot of volunteer plants, usually tomatoes and she lets them live because she thinks they are the hardiest of the bunch.
However Mum had the best volunteer plant of last season - a rockmelon! I have spoken about it before but haven't got around to putting up the pictures. I managed to eat some when I was last in Adelaide and let me tell you, this was one awesome rockmelon, sweet, juicy and perfectly textured.
At Christmas it was simply an uiendified vine. By the time I left I surmised it was either a pumpkin or a melon but was no closer to true identification. Then its melons grew and grew. It grew up and away, hanging fruits over the roses and climbing the trellises put in place for other plants.
All in all it was the best volunteer plant because my family eat a tonne of rockmelon in Summer and this one was for free. Unlike Mum, I don't have a composter in my tiny space (yes I know it is possible but no, I am not starting it any time soon) so there is limited chance of me getting a volunteer rockmelon. And it is very difficult to grow rockmelons in pots ... but has that ever stopped me before?
So stay tuned, there could well be adventures on rockmelonland in the balcony garden next spring!
