"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Franz Heymann wrote:
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article , kk kkkkk
wrote:
What are the chances of growing Water Melon outside in South London?

Growing one - good. Getting ripe fruit - very poor indeed.

As students, my friend Constant Wilke and I did a lot of mountaineering
in
South Africa. On one occasion we carried a watermelon and a sweet melon
with us as a source of water. We planted the pips in a sunny flat at
5000
ft altitude.

The following year there were dozens of ripe melons of both kinds waiting
for us when we revisited the place.

At about 9 degrees south of the tropic of Cancer; London is 28 degrees
north of the tropic of Capricorn. Alternatively, you planted them some
35 degrees north of the Antarctic circle; London is 16 degrees south of
Arctic circle.

I should be surprised if the insolation during the growing seasons
were less than a factor of two different.

Yes. That is the point I was trying to make, without actually saying so.

In similar vein: I have a brother who lives just off the garden route. He
does not garden. He "ungardens", removing only the supernumary wild stuff
on his plot which is then naturally left with at least four species of
Protea, a similar number of Cape Heaths and the odd disa or two.

Franz