[gerdesj]

I'm convinced. Watermelons have a decently hard outer casing and make a great store for water. Here (South UK) we see quite a lot of rainfall and the climate is fairly gentle. If we could breed these things tolerant of lower temperatures then it could be a goer. That would be something else to see on a farm here: A plot of melons next to your Maris Pipers!

The climate is going to be getting wackier and wackier in future. I suspect we'll be seeing some pretty far out ideas becoming fact quite quickly. Large melons grown outdoors in British soil may not be the strangest. If this takes off, then Benny Hill's (RIP) spiritual successor will have material for years.

Back in the mid '80s I remember scrumping a few melons from a nearby plot in Cyprus. We lived in the WESBA (near Paphos). Teenage boys are pretty close to the bottom of the list of pests that afflict watermelons, so I don't feel too guilty. A freshly picked melon is a wonderous thing and there is so much water in them.

Now I really come to think about it, the more important melons become. The honey dew version must have quite a lot of sugar in it as well as moisture, again another useful trait.

We probably need a lot more melons. Ooo-er missis.

[eru]

> Watermelons have a decently hard outer casing and make a great store for water.

Each water melon only stores a few litres of water. That's not a lot to make a difference.