Watermelon

Early Moonbeam

The early moonbeam is an early producer watermelon in northern climates. The flesh is yellow, the rind is thin, and grows to be 5 to 8 pounds in weight.

Source: https://www.smartgardener.com/plants/250-watermelon-early-moonbeam/overview

Black Diamond

The Black Diamond was developed in Arkansas, displays a black and green rind, and is oblong in shape. The fruit can reach 30 to 50 pounds when mature. Although sometimes seedless, they usually contain gray-black seeds. In addition, the Black Diamond is drought-resistant.

Source: https://bonnieplants.com/product/black-diamond/#:~:text=Black%20Diamond%20is%20a%20classic,and%20can%20grow%20quite%20large.

Watermelon Production

The watermelon is named after what makes up 95% of its content: water. Besides water, it is full of nutrients; 1 cup of diced, fresh watermelon provides 21percent of the daily value (DV) for vitamin C, 18 percent of the VD for vitamin A, and significant levels of vitamin B6, lycopene, antioxidants, and amino acids. Watermelon consumption and production in the United States has been on the rise in the last few decades. U.S. annual per capita consumption of watermelon is now at approximately 16.1 pounds per person as of 2017. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, over 113,000 acres of watermelons were grown in the US in 2017, producing 40.01 million pounds. While watermelons are grown across the U.S., most production occurs in the top four states (Texas, Florida, Georgia and California), producing approximately 69 percent of all grown in the U.S. All but about 24 percent of domestic consumption of watermelons comes from U.S. growers; the rest comes primarily from Mexico or Central American countries.

Source: https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/watermelon#:~:text=While%20watermelons%20are%20grown%20across,in%202014%20was%2031%2C800%20pounds.

Orange Crisp

The Orange Crisp is seedless, extra sweet, juicy and crispy. The flesh is amber/orange and the rind is resistant to sunburn. The fruit reaches 14 to 18 pounds in approximatly 92 days to maturity. In addition, the yellow or orange varities of watermelon will not make you burp as much as red meated.

Source: https://parkseed.com/orange-crisp-hybrid-watermelon-seeds/p/05496/#:~:text=go-to%20melon!-,Orange%20Crisp%20lives%20up%20to%20its%20name%20with%20bright %20to,18%20pounds%20on%20the%20vine.

If you choose seedless...

Know this - there is no such thing as seedless watermelons. Those white seeds that you sometimes spit out, but more often than not chew up, are seeds. In regular seeded watermelons, the white seeds are only around 5% of all seeds. In seedless, the white seeds are the predominate seed. So what are the white seeds? They are actually the coatings of seeds that haven’t matured. A seedless watermelon contains 33 chromosomes as a hybrid, and are grown differently than seeded watermelons. These watermelons are made by crossing pollen, which has 22 chromosomes per cell, with watermelon flowers that have been altered with chemicals. The treated flowers have 44 chromosomes per cell—double the normal amount. Genetic modification or no, seedless watermelons are more popular in the US than seeded. Last year, the seedless variety comprised 73% of all watermelon imported to the US, mainly from Mexico—a dramatic shift from just a decade ago.

Source: https://qz.com/106024/lets-get-real-about-seedless-watermelons-they-have-seeds/#:~:text=Watermelons%2C%20like%20all%20fruit%2C%20naturally,watermelon%20is %20one%20that%27s%20seedless.&text=They%20are%20the%20coatings%20of,be%20these%20undeveloped%20white%20ones.

If you choose seeded...

The traditional seeded watermelon contains black, matured seeds and the fruit shape is more oblong than seedless varieties, which tend to be rounder. As the seeds are hard, they are often discarded (though in some parts or the world they are saved and roasted) by knife and fork, spoon, or spitting various distances. For more on proper consumption, see the videos below. Because seedless have more sets of genes than seeded, some claim that the flavor is better, even sweeter. Others claim that seeded watermelons are sweeter and juicier than seedless. I stand with the later camp. Price wise, seeded is usually higher than seedless, although you get more fruit per unit cost, typically.

Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-seedless-and-seeded-watermelons-233764

Watermelon Videos

Below, you will find a few videos on watermelon consumption and gardening tips. I think the only way to eat a watermelon, seeded or seedless, is with a fork and knife. But other viewpoints can be considered.