My perennial summer rant: watermelons

[fatelk]

Who here likes seedless watermelons?

I remember eating watermelon growing up, big old 40lb melons full of seeds. One of the good things about summer. Nowadays I can't buy anything but these small round seedless things with no flavor. They seem to range from bland to mediocre. We still buy one once in a while because the kids like them.

We bought one a few days ago and I cut into it to find a bunch of black seeds. Then I took a bite. Wow! That's what a watermelon is supposed to taste like!

I just can't understand who even buys the flavorless seedless ones? People who've never tasted a real one, or maybe don't have tastebuds?

[DerekP Houston]

we buy them off the side of the highway when driving to the lake. Those small seedless ones is the grocery store might as well be decoration for all i care, they don't taste like anything. I prefer the seeded variety myself as well. 'hempstead watermelons' are supposedly the good ones here.

[rockrat]

At one time, lived not too far from Rush Springs, OK. Man, those Black Diamond watermelons were so good, as were the Crimson Sweet. Grandad taught me how to pick out a ripe one. He knew enough farmers that sometimes we go to go out in the "patch" and pick our own off the vine.
When the family would go back to OK to visit relatives, I would take the little ones by Rush Springs during watermelon season and get a few and put them in an ice chest to cool off. When cool, we would eat the heart out of the melon!!! Good memories there

[nannyhammer]

Took several trips to pick black diamonds and crimson sweets along the Arkansas River near Blackwell, OK. Grandpa would load up the pickup and we'd head off to our town to sell. By far the best watermelons I've ever found anywhere.

[Hogtamer]

Cordele Ga used to be called watermelon capitol of the world and my Gdaddy was manager of the farmers market there foe a number of years. It was the hub for all melons that came off the last couple of weeks of June as they had to up north by July 4th. The big round dark color melon was the Congo, yep 30-40 lbs. Deep red color meat and generally sweetest of all. The long light melons with dark stripes were Charleston Greys Not as sweet but thicker rinds for shipping and looked more what folks thought watermelons ought to look like. Both had long rows of big black seeds. All boys had watermelon seed spittin contests too. Acres and acres of trucks weighed in and lined up under sheds waiting for the northern buyers to come by. They would pick out a melon or two, cut it on the dock for inspection before buying the load. thousands of trucks, cantaloupes too that you could smell a long way off. G'daddy made me at about age 12, the "pigeon control officer." A single shot .22 with all the rat shot I could tote to keep the messy pigeons outta the rafters of the sheds. It was a job I took seriously! And the farmers and truckers never batted an eye when I'd pop off, even point one out to me! Or maybe I just spent a few years in heaven. It sure was different times then. In fact pigeons got so bad in the area they closed off some of the downtown areas one Saturday afternoon (officially) and local bird hunters were inviteded to come shoot pigeons in downtown! Daddy and I stood out on main street in front of my Gmothers little business, Ila's Tots, shooting pigeons just like a dove shoot. That may be hard for young folks to believe but in the mid 60s.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a close friend, who is a veggie farmer, usually has about 1 or 2 acres of watermelons.
you can't even compare a grocery store seedless watermelon, to a local grown, vine ripened watermelon.
Crimson Sweet is probably my favorite, Sangria is another variety that is even better, but for what ever reason? the Seed is difficult to get and when you find it, it's kind of expensive, so my friend doesn't grow them anymore.

[MaryB]

Just ate a slice of seedless, I yearn for the days of real watermelons...

[Oily]

I live in a small town in NW Oklahoma called Ringwood. We too used to be called watermelon capitol of the world back in the 30s or 40s. We live in the Cimarron river valley with sandy soil and rolling sand hills. Perfect for growing watermelons. In the dry years it seemed like the melons were sweeter. Black Diamonds were king and some would come in over a hundred pounds. My dad at age 13 worked in town loading boxcars with melons to ship out of state. We had a annual watermelon festival and dance where they would block off main street and have all kinds of activities for the kids and you could actually walk around at the dance with a cold one in your hand. Most of that is gone but we still have 2 or 3 roadside stands that still sell melons. Times have changed but the sweet taste of a vine ripened melon has not.

[buckwheatpaul]

Have had both types but prefer the ones my neighbor grows.... in the wonderful world of watermelons: seeds = taste! I really like the old yellow meat watermelons but my wife does not care for them so I generally wind up with the old rattlesnake watermelons and celebrate life!

[farmerjim]

I grow Starbrite melons. Avg 25 pounds. I have grown many other varieties, but starbrite is just a good yielding sweet melon. If they don't get much water the last week or 2 of growth, they are sweeter.

[OS OK]

My greatgramma, Mother Minnie (hailed out of Missouri) made jelly out of the white rind...when ready it was a pinkish color and it was a favorite of all.

Our favorite mellon was the Texas Striper, we didn't know any other name to call them by...and the best had yellowish bottoms from vine ripening.

[Side by Side]

i AGREE

[HABCAN]

Hogtamer, Post #5...............pigeon shooting downtown? Yeah, BTDT, in TORONTO, Canada in the '60's. The times they have changed!!

[jdfoxinc]

And here I thought you were going to talk about their value as target's.

[imashooter2]

Grocery store fruit in general is a pale shadow of what most of us grew up with. It is all bred and shipped for durability now. Flavor doesn't enter into the equation. Last week at the market they had "tree ripened" nectarines, at a 90 cent a pound premium over their standard nectarines. They were hard as golf balls. Garbage. Red does not equal ripe.

[farmerjim]

"Red does not equal ripe." Look at the bottom color to determine ripeness. Different varieties have different color at ripeness. I grew peaches and nectarines (250 trees) for 10 years. A tree ripened peach or nectarine is a treat to behold.

"And here I thought you were going to talk about their value as target's."

R Lee Ermey's arch nemesis.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Back in the day, when we had a garden, I grew some Charleston Grays. Sure were good.

[Hogtamer]

To determine if the melon is ripe, look at the "curl"on the stem that attaches to the vine. It is all brown of the melon is really ripe.

[William Yanda]

On my bucket list is:

* Chill a large watermelon, split and eat the center, ignoring the seeded portion.

[KCSO]

Norfolk Nebraska watermelon capitol! There is a farmer parked here and there all through town, fresh farm grown balck diamond and Norfolk mellons. This time of year I eat melon and pee with a smile. Love them pisspunkins.