Mystery Cantaloupes Growing In Parking Lot Between 2 Dumpsters; ‘Nice to Have NYC Kids Get to See Plants Growing.’
Cantaloupes are growing in a weedy parking lot behind 792 Park West Village on the side of the building facing West 100th Street.
It’s not clear if anyone planted them or — like the deadly hallucinogenic plant on Columbus Avenue — they just showed up one day, grown from seeds air-dropped in bird poop.
“I’m not sure if any of the buildings know as the plants never seem tended and all fruit grown just seems to rot and animals eat it,” writes Jen Klee, who sent in the photos. “But it’s still nice to have NYC kids get to see plants growing.”
“It’s been there at least a year that I’ve noticed,” Jen wrote. “I kept seeing rotting cantaloupes on the ground and was confused. No one seems to be tending to it so it looks like animals just eat them and leave them.”
If you like melon stories, we also found some growing randomly in a pedestrian island on Amsterdam Avenue two years ago.
whenever i read about cantaloupes, i think of the punch line to the old (ancient) knock-knock joke:
“Cantaloupe without a girl.”
this probably would be considered “gendered discourse” these days.
Can someone investigate why that parking lot/perfect place to find a body in a Law & Order cold open is there at all? It’s such an eyesore and could really be useful to someone, somewhere (like, I dunno, a school?)
Most likely because it is private property belonging to the Park West Village Condo (or coop?) Corporation.
This is pretty funny, even if it’s not quite as fascinating as the Times’ recent coverage of the East River tomatoes.
Also does anyone else remember the pineapple that grew on the south side of 72nd between Broadway and West End like five or six years ago? I really got a kick out of that.
My kids still remember the huge corn stalk on Amsterdam several years ago!
I noticed this patch growing but assumed it wouldn’t bear fruit! Whole Foods has competition. Ha!