What to look for on the outside and discovering the connection between great taste and healthy soil
Summer is undeniably upon us here in the USA. I generally love my adopted state of Virginia, but these past few weeks, it's been pretty miserable with the undesirable duo of high heat being and humidity teaming up to make you go searching for something cool. And there are few things better designed to meet this need than a juicy piece of watermelon!
Likewise, one of life’s small disappointments is biting into a mushy, not-so-great melon that is either too sweet or not ripe enough.
Wouldn't it be nice to know how to pick the perfect watermelon?
But how do you know which watermelon to pick at the grocery store to give you the best shot at summer bliss?
How To Pick the Perfect Watermelon?
It turns out, there are a number of things to look for at the store that will help you pick a good one. Even better, if you know that your store is sourcing melons from growers that are using certain regenerative farming techniques, you are able to pick the best from the best.
At the end of this post, you will get a chance to watch my feature interview with Derek Azevedo, Executive Vice President of Bowles Farming Company in California.
Derek will take you with him to one of their watermelon fields -- and you will get to learn from the pros about what to look for at the grocery store to help you pick the best watermelon this summer.
The Sweet Link to Regenerative Farming
Like all the other discussions we’ve had with growers of everything from ancient wheat varieties like Rouge de Bordeaux to forage-finished beef to organic blueberries grown in healthy soil . . . what happens on the farm, affects both the flavor and the health of your food – and the same is true for watermelons.
In the second half of our discussion, Derek shares how good soil health practices like crop rotations paired with strong crop management practices like managing vine height and selecting great seeds – all end up affecting the consistent quality of the melons. And while you can’t always find out what each watermelon grower is doing on the farm, you can learn about all these things for the watermelons grown by Bowles Farming under the Majesty label – and see all that goes into creating their consistently tasty fruit.
By the way, you can learn all about these great products and how to order them by going to our webpage: globalfoodfarm.com/betterfood