1 | Appearance
Round, oval or spherical in shape, the glorious watermelon sports a variegated rind of dark and pale green. Inside, the watermelon bursts with sweet, yellow or red flesh and contains black, brown or white pips (unless you happen upon a seedless variety, of course).
2 | Use
While watermelon is perfect just as it is, there are many uses for this flavorful fruit. It can be used in cocktails, barbecue sauce, salsa and salad, and it can also be grilled. Pickled watermelon rinds are another creative use and a great way to cut waste.
3 | Grow
According to the LSU AgCenter, watermelon seeds can be directly planted in the ground in mid-March or early April after all threats of frost have passed. Another option is to plant the seeds in seedling trays no more than three weeks before the date you want to set transplants in the ground. Choose a well-drained, sunny spot as watermelon vines need six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day to develop fruit. A single watermelon vine can easily grow eight to 10 feet, so plant in a wide area. Plant a row, then skip one to two rows. Set transplants (or seeds) three to four feet between one another on the row. Watermelons are ready for harvest when the bottom sports a small yellow patch and the tendril closest to the top the fruit has turned brown.
4 | Learn
A hill of melons is a group of three to six seeds planted together, according to the LSU AgCenter. Once the seedlings emerge, growers usually thin the vines to one or two vines per hill. For smaller home gardens, one or two watermelon vines can be planted at the edge of raised beds and allowed to grow in the area immediately outside of the bed.
5 | Lagniappe
Guinness World Record holder Christopher Kent of Sevierville, Tennessee, grew the heaviest watermelon to date (350.5 pounds) in 2013.
