About Families Online

Feature Articles for August, 2003

by Helen Colella

During the hot, steamy summer days of August parents and children alike are in search of a cool refreshing treat or beverage to accompany them as they sit under a big old shady tree and read the new bestseller or other library book selections.

Why not join forces? Together you can beat the heat, spend some time with each other and enjoy a sweet treat.

First: Shop for the perfect watermelon! Chill it. Slice it. Blend it into a refreshing smoothie, slush or punch. Puree it and make a snow cone. Can’t you just feel a cooling sensation?

Second: Decide on what you want to read and find that shade tree. Aren’t you relaxed and enjoying it already?

Ah! Watermelon–one of summer’s refreshing special treats! Perhaps because it’s 92% water.

Did You Know:
1. Watermelon is a vegetable!
It’s related to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. Watermelon is an ideal health food because it doesn’t contain any fat or cholesterol, is high in fiber, vitamins A and C, and is a good source of potassium.

2. Watermelon is edible, even the seeds and rind!
Throughout the years, watermelon has found itself in many pickles, jams, roasted (seeds), and other interesting situations.

3. Watermelon comes in 1,200 varieties.
According to watermelon experts, early Greek settlers in Charleston, South Carolina were the first to introduce pickling watermelon. In addition, the first cookbook published in the United States in 1796 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles and the recipe is still a favorite for many.

Watermelon is produced in 12 countries around the world: the USA being fourth on the list. Of the states, Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, South Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, and Louisiana were the main producers of watermelon in 2002.

The best US grown watermelon is available from April through November, with the peak production months in May, June, July and August. The imported watermelon is available from October through June, with peak production months in March, April and May.

According to professional growers, the ingredients for a delicious watermelon begin on the farm with the right mix of weather, water and vigilant care.

Producers generally grow watermelon in rows, 8-12 feet apart, in raised beds 4-12 inches high composed of fertilized sand or sandy loam. Sheets of plastic cover the beds to hold in solid nutrients and water and keep out weeds. Honeybees are a secret ingredient that must also be available. They are responsible for pollinating the yellow watermelon blossom. It takes about a month for the vine to spread – to as much as 6-8 feet. After 60 days, the vine produces its first watermelons. Add 30 more days and the crop is ready to harvest.

Watermelon plants have more than one “picking” life. The first watermelons to mature are called the crown set because they are closest to the root. Other melons farther down the vine will ripen and be harvested later. This gives the growers a profitable yield from their fields before the crop has completed its growing cycle.

Before picking, watermelon producers look for a pale or buttery yellow spot on the bottom, indicating ripeness. Then because the rind of the watermelon is fragile it is necessary for the growers to pick the crop by hand.

Carefully, each watermelon is passed hand-to-hand from the field to trucks. Then they’re taken to the packing sheds, where they are sorted and hand-packed into trucks, crated into bins or placed in cartons for shipment to their destinations.

Here are a few fun facts you many not have known about watermelons and that you may have the occasion to use:

1. In China and Japan watermelon is a popular gift to bring a host. Why not bring one to your next dinner party?

2. Early explorers used watermelons as canteens. An interesting tidbit for your child’s history lesson at school?

3. In 1990, Bill Carson, of Arrington, Tennessee, grew the largest watermelon at 262 pounds that is still on the record books according to the 1998 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.