A zone runs from 4A to 6B??? I think our leg is being pulled.

The very question makes me certain that our collective legs are being pulled, unless shule is a market gardener.

I'm serious, but I think it's funny that you think I'm joking. :) I don't recommend oiling watermelons if you intend to eat or pickle the rind, though.

Here are some small watermelons that I polished days ago, next to one that wasn't polished (they were less bright and shiny than that one before); all fruits in the picture were washed.

They can look pretty good without using oil if you just polish them with a cloth, but the oil makes them shine more and gives a different texture. In the above picture, I polished the same watermelon without oil, and put more polished with oil in the picture.

My inspiration came in part from a watermelon that looked and felt polished in this fashion naturally, and in part because I wondered if this would extend the shelf life, since oil is anti-microbial (I'm not sure if it is in low amounts like this, though).

Yes, these are actually ripe.

But why?

Because I like shiny things and bright colors. And I like to surprise people (and experiment). Well, I was hoping it would encourage people to eat them more, but although it seems to have brightened the mood around the table, it hasn't resulted in more people eating them (besides me).

Sounds too much like housework for me ;-)

LOL

Nope, never tried it. And we don't have avocado oil in the house and I doubt I'd want to use it on melons if we did. But, I do make sure to wash melons well by rubbing with a cloth or soft brush under running water before eating. One household member will cut them garden dirt and all if not reminded...and then the wash is usually 2 seconds under the kitchen faucet. Yikes, it doesn't even remove the dried on soil, much less bacteria or molds. If the melon is being eaten immediately it's not quite so bad, but if some of the melon gets stored the bacteria and molds transferred to the cut surfaces are not good for taste, storage time, or food safety.

For keeping purposes, try wiping with a 10% bleach solution after cleaning the melons. It helps with winter squash storage although I'd never try storing melon for as long as squash.

Yours do look pretty. Kinda funny that you are trying to encourage people to eat more of them. When I was a kid there was never enough melon...seemed like we could eat it forever. It's one of the things I remember our parents telling us how many pieces we could have. And we always ate the maximum "allowed" and wished for more.

I have to wonder if a thin coat of oil after bleach sterilization would improve the shelf life of winter squash and maybe other vegetables. Of course, if you Google "polish squash", you learn about racquet sports in Poland.

Much less work if you take them to the bowling alley. ;^)

''laceyvail(6A, WV) '' zone runs from 4A to 6B??? I think our leg is being pulled.''

Quite possible in Idaho. Altitude does things you have only read about. On a clear day I can see three USDA zones from my mailbox.

Albert, the altitude factor is so interesting! I've read about it and studied it, but it's still remarkable in real life.