Emerald in the sunshine – Juicy organic watermelon

Emerald in the sunshine – Juicy organic watermelon

Melons come into season during the peak of summer in Taiwan. Among these melons, watermelon is the most popular one. The production of seedless watermelons in Taiwan is ranked No. 1 in the world. There are more than 6,000 varieties in the world and 25% of them come from Taiwan.

Different varieties are developed to satisfy the market.

The varieties with large size and many seeds, such as Black Rind (黑皮) and Chiapao Melon (嘉寶瓜), were first introduced to Taiwan. Variety improvement started in 1960s. Large red-flesh watermelons, like Match Maker (紅娘) and Fubao (富寶), and small yellow-flesh watermelon, like Kimlan (金蘭), were introduced to the market. The development of variety seedless watermelons started at the same time. Mr. Wen Yu Chen had developed 285 varieties, including some popular varieties introduced to South East Asia and China. Nowadays Taiwanese families prefer smaller watermelons, such as Sweet Beauty (甜美人), Dianna (黛安娜), Seedless watermelon, Lover (小愛, 情人瓜) and Zilelling460 (賜樂鈴460). Watermelons usually grow well in well-drained sandy loam so the best watermelons can be found in Hualien, Miaoli, Yulin, Jiayi and Pingtung in Taiwan.

Organic watermelon farmers overcome difficulties.

To grow organic watermelon outdoors or in hanging planters inside the greenhouse, farmers should select appropriate varieties first. The most popular variety is “Sweet Beauty” (甜美人), which has an oval shape, clear rind stripe pattern, even red flesh and firm rind. It weight (3 to 4 kilograms) and sweetness makes it the best choice for consumers. Farmers love its high yield and simple delivery requirements to keep watermelons fresh. Watermelon is fertile with the female flowers being pollinated by pollen from male flowers and is mainly hand-pollinated (including open pollinated by bees) to control production seasons. Some farmers use weed control mats to prevent weeds and lay straws or nets for vines to spread up. When the vine is about 100 centimeters long, farmers start to thin out smaller fruits and keep the best one only. For pest control, they spray sex pheromone on cardboards or traps.

Adequate amount of water is essential for watermelon. Heavy rain can easily cause damage during seedling, pollination and harvest. Organic farmers in Taiwan have to cope with monsoon during the flowering period and typhoons during the harvest season. The yield of conventional farming is twice as that of organic farming, which requires more experience and patience.

Watermelon is 100% edible!

We usually eat flesh watermelon and drink juice. Dried watermelon jerky is also an option for watermelon lovers. Local people in Southern Taiwan preserve small fruits thinned out by organic farmers and make various dishes with watermelon pickle. The white rind can be diced into small pieces to make summer delicacy. Unripe watermelon and rind are processed to make watermelon frost spray for sore throat and painful swelling.