Aug. 3 is National Watermelon Day and I, for one, have always loved watermelon.
I grew up in southern Iowa, and the soil near the Mississippi River has a particular combination of sand and dirt that is perfect for growing melons. Cantaloupe (or muskmelons, as we called them), watermelons and honeydew melons all grow very well in this area. I spent my summers in high school working on a farm that raised all sorts of produce and melons.
Every time I see a pile of watermelons for sale, I’m reminded of a slow-moving tractor and wagon in the field — three men on each side tossing melons up to one man on the wagon, who stacked them in perfect rows. The hardest job belonged to the man closest to the wagon; he had to pick his own row, toss melons up to the stacker, and also catch and pitch melons from the two outer rows.
I remember my first day in the field, not knowing what was ripe and what wasn’t, and just picking everything in sight. I was quickly chastised by the foreman, who then taught me how to tell what was ready to pick. It’s a skill that I am always proud to showcase to my wife, Tracy, my two sons, Nick and Chad, and my daughter, Madeline, every time we go to select a watermelon. I have picked thousands of melons, and it is likely those experiences that made me so fond of the fruit.
Another favorite memory I have is going to the annual Watermelon Festival in Montrose, Iowa, every August. They would have several refrigerated semi-truck trailers full of watermelons, which were free to the public. All you had to do was get in line, get a slice and then head off to some makeshift plywood tables to enjoy. We didn’t receive a lot of treats as kids, and getting all the ice-cold watermelon we could eat was pure joy and an experience we looked forward to every year. It was also a source of pride in high school, knowing that I had picked a portion of those watermelons that everyone savored during the festival.
For most of my life, I thought the sweetest watermelons came from southeast Iowa, until someone gifted me a Cave City watermelon last year. Being a self-proclaimed watermelon aficionado, I immediately sized up this Cave City watermelon. It definitely looked impressive on the outside, but how would it sound? I gave it my patented and highly tested thump test and processed the sound with my calibrated watermelon hearing; it sounded pretty amazing. It had the deep vibrato resonance that indicated this melon was nearly perfect. However, the true test lay in cutting it open and seeing just how sweet this melon would be. I remember being delighted by the pure sweetness, and it immediately gave me flashbacks to my early days.
A Google search for “Where are the sweetest watermelons grown?” will yield this top answer: “Cave City, Arkansas.” It is attributed to the area’s rich, sandy soil. I completely agree, since this matches the soil type of the sweetest watermelons I remember in Iowa. However, Cave City
takes the prize for sweetest. The annual Cave City Watermelon Festival was scheduled for July 24-26, so I regret that by the time this article makes it to mailboxes, the festival will already be over. However, I hope that you can still get a Cave City watermelon this year to enjoy.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention other watermelon greatness in our great state. A Google search for “Where are the largest watermelons grown?” will yield this top answer: “Hope, Arkansas.” Hope has a history of producing record-breaking watermelons, and produced a world record holder in 2005. However, Chris Kent of Sevierville, Tennessee, broke this record in 2013, when he produced a 350.5-pound watermelon. I would love to see Hope take back the title with a real whopper this year. Hope claims to be the Watermelon Capital of the World and undoubtedly has some rights to this claim. However, watermelon.org states that seven cities make this boast, and it is too close to call, so they ask for readers to provide their input to help them decide.
The Hope Watermelon Festival is set for Aug. 7-9 this year, so if you are eagerly reading Arkansas Living as soon as it hits your mailbox, it’s not too late to visit Hope to appreciate some delicious watermelon. I have yet to try a Hope watermelon, and it is on my list this summer. I can’t imagine anything sweeter than the Cave City watermelon I had last year, but I am ready to find out.
Now for the great part: Watermelon is not only sweet and tasty, it’s packed with nutritional value. Watermelon is 92% water (good for hydration) and it contains lycopene, an antioxidant associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Additionally, it contains citrulline, which is associated with improved blood flow and reduced blood pressure. Watermelon is also full of vitamins A and C as well as potassium and magnesium. The Mayo Clinic even has a webpage titled, “The Wonders of Watermelon.”
I am sure that readers will be split as to whether the best watermelons come from Cave City or Hope, but I hope everyone will support these local growers, seek out one of their special melons and maybe even attend a festival before summer slips away.