A long time ago I grew cantaloupes in my garden. An elderly neighbor said, "They won't have any taste." She was right. The fruits looked beautiful, but when cut they were completely tasteless. It was an odd sensation, like having a cotton ball in the mouth.

My garden book said the problem is lack of magnesium, and to spray the vines with Epsom salts and water. But I never did, preferring to grow crops that were less effort.

My soil is derived from loess, supposedly one of the best agricultural soils in the world.