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How to Choose Watermelon Varieties

While most of us can remember enjoying watermelons in the summertime as far back as childhood, it may be surprising to find out that today there are around two hundred different watermelon varieties grown. The traditional oblong green watermelon with pink flesh and black seeds is no longer the only choice. Today there are seedless varieties as well as the traditional watermelons with seeds.

Watermelon varieties that are the sweetest are grown in the warmest regions. Many watermelon varieties have been developed for the cold northern regions but most of them still take at least 90 days to sweeten. Wherever you live, you can find watermelon varieties which are bred to grow in your region.

A watermelon will not sweeten further after being picked, like some other vegetables and fruits. That means harvesting has to be done in a timely manner. When you are picking out a watermelon, look for the one that are heaviest and has a rind that is hard to the touch. Pick up the watermelon and look underneath. There should be a cream color or yellow on the bottom of the melon where it had been lying on the ground. This is the major indicator of ripeness.

Today watermelons can have flesh which is yellow, orange, red or pink. Regardless of the variety, watermelon is very nutritious. It is over 90% water. A 1-2/3 cup serving (one wedge) has 91 calories, 27mg vitamin C, 331 mg potassium, 1.77 grams protein, 20.54 grams carbohydrates, and 1.43 grams fiber.

One of the biggest health benefits of watermelon varieties is that it contains a large amount of the antioxidant, lycopene. This antioxidant has been shown to help prevent some forms of cancer and heart disease. Tomatoes are the only food with more lycopene than watermelon. In addition, vitamin C and vitamin A can help fight disease and strengthen the immune system.

All of the 200 watermelon varieties fall into one of four different categories of watermelon. They are either considered to be icebox, picnic, yellow flesh or seedless. The icebox and picnic watermelons are the most common. An icebox watermelon generally weighs from five to fifteen pounds. It’s green on the outside and can be pink or yellow inside.

The picnic watermelon is the one most people think of when asked about watermelon varieties. It can weigh anywhere from fifteen to forty-five pounds and is oblong in shape. The skin can be light or dark green and often has stripes. Although pink used to be the only choice for the flesh, now you can also choose yellow.

Yellow-flesh watermelon is becoming more common. Most have rind that is very light green with faint stripes. The inside is anywhere from pastel yellow to a brilliant orange. The shape is either oblong or long. A yellow watermelon might weight anywhere from ten to thirty pounds.

The biggest change in watermelon varieties is that now seedless watermelons are available. They are often round with flesh that is yellow or red. Size is in the 10 to 25 pound range. Some seedless watermelons do have light, chewable seeds.

No matter which of the watermelon varieties you prefer, most all are available year-round. They are cheaper in the summer. They are also a fun plant to grow in the backyard if you have the room. Kids love to watch watermelons grow. Even if you live where there is a short summer season, you can still grow a nice, sweet watermelon that tastes great.

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Tips for Growing Watermelon

Growing watermelon can be a challenging endeavor. It’s not that there is anything out of the ordinary about planting watermelon, but it takes approximately ninety days to get to harvest time. Because of the length of time needed to grow a watermelon, there is ample opportunity for diseases and pests to find their way into the watermelon patch. It also means that watermelon can be exposed to many different weather conditions. Watermelon is beneficial to keep body healhty, there are several health benefits taken into consideration.

Some of the Benefits Of Watermelon

Nearly every article you're apt to come across extolling the healthy benefits of watermelon is going to start out by visualizing the enjoyment of eating a watermelon on a hot summer's day. It's hard not to do this. The watermelon is a staple of the family summer time picnic. Few things taste better than a cool slice of watermelon, and one of the joys of the summer picnic would be a good old-fashioned seed spitting contest. We also remember the feel of watermelon juice on the sides of our face as we got deeper into the slice.

Top Tips on How to Identify a Ripe Watermelon

It is sometimes not an easy task to figure out if you have a ripe watermelon or not. This is especially true if you have dozens of watermelon plants in your garden. The most accurate way is one that is usually only used by commercial producers, and that involves using a hand refractometer to measure the sweetness of the watermelon. The middle of a ripe watermelon should have a sugar level of around ten percent.

All About the Square Watermelon

Everyone loves to eat watermelon in the summer, but its round, oblong shape makes it hard to carry, hard to slice, and hard to store but now there’s a solution the square watermelon. Developed by a farmer in Japan almost twenty years ago, the square watermelon can now be purchased throughout Japan.

Still, most of the people in the world have never seen or eaten a square watermelon. In Japan, they are only purchased by the wealthy. 

Watermelon Nutrition and Its Benefits

While dieticians have long known the value of watermelon nutrition, the public is just now finding out how healthy a watermelon really is. For instance, a cup of watermelon has vitamin A for healthy eyes, vitamin C to help strengthen your immune system, vitamin B6 which helps the brain to make chemicals for psychological health, and potassium, which every cell in the body needs for water balance.

The Truth about the Watermelon Diet

The watermelon diet is one of many which are considered fad diets. They become extremely popular for a time because people maintain that they lost weight, and everyone wants to lose weight. But, let’s face it, none of us want to eat only watermelon for the rest of our lives and if you stick to this diet for a long period of time, you will lose your health rather than gain it.

Watermelon Nutrition

Are you interested in watermelon nutrition facts? There is a lot of hearsay that surrounds watermelon, such as “watermelon can help you lose weight” or “watermelon can help prevent cancer.” The truth is that watermelon nutrition does have the possibility to stave off certain illnesses although the research conducted on that front is not solid. It definitely does make a good food choice for a hot summer’s day.

Is Watermelon Good For You?

Why is watermelon good for you? What are the health benefits in adding watermelon in your regular diet? What are the essential vitamins and minerals you can find in this fruit? These are the questions we aim to answer in this short article. But before answering, let us have an overview of existing trends that provide the background to questions like these.