Types Of Watermelon

Types of watermelon?

Did you know there are lots of different types of watermelon? Usually, the only decision you’ll have to make when selecting a watermelon from your local fruit and vegetable shop is the size. Watermelon is typically only available in one kind at most supermarkets. This has caused us to assume that there is only one sort of watermelon, despite the fact that, like some other fruits, watermelons come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Watermelon comes in 200 to 300 distinct kinds across the world, but only 50 of them are consumed on a daily basis. It’s no wonder that the sweeter kinds are the most popular among the 300 available. Watermelon has a unique, thirst-quenching, mouth-watering, sweet flesh covered by a solid rind in all types.

Some watermelon cultivars have a sweeter rind and flesh, while others have a distinct colored skin and flesh. The oval, dark green watermelon with bright, ruby red pulp is the most common, although melon flesh can also be peachy pink, yellow, or even orange. Watermelons range in size from tiny 5 pounders (2 kg) to gigantic 200 pounders. Seedless, picnic, personal, giant, icebox, and yellow/orange skinned are the six primary varieties of watermelon.

Seedless watermelon:

Due to their seedless nature, hybrid watermelons are preferred by many. The average weight of these watermelons is about 15 pounds. Watermelons with no seeds frequently have tiny white seeds that are readily eaten. Seedless fruits are considerably more practical than seeded fruits for making culinary masterpieces like sorbets or salads since you can bypass the arduous procedure of extracting those little pips from the flesh. Personally, I do prefer seeded varieties, as they are closer to their original form and watermelon seeds are quite healthy.

Cultivating these hybrids at home is possible, but it takes more effort and is more difficult than raising seeded varieties. Give it a go if you’re the sort of gardener who enjoys a challenge – and, more crucially, appreciates seedless watermelon. It comes in a variety of forms, including:

1.     Big Tasty

This seedless variety packs a lot of flavor into a little container. When suitable for collection, ‘Big Tasty’ melons grow a diameter of around 10-12 inches and weigh up to six to eight pounds apiece.

Fruits are spherical oval in form, with pale gray-green skins and crisp, firm, brilliant red flesh that has a delicious flavor. In fact, when tested against 50 other kinds, this cultivar won Burpee’s blind tasting.

2.     Mini Piccolo

Mini Piccolo’ is a single-serving seedless hybrid cultivar. Green rinds with deeper green patterning cover spherical fruits that weigh two to four pounds. The flesh of these little watermelons is thick crimson and extremely delicious.

Plants will develop 14 inches tall with a 10-foot spreading and produce up to six fruits per plant. Plant ‘Mini Piccolo’ beside a seeding pollinator cultivar like ‘Crimson Sweet.’ In 80-83 days, this fruit will be suitable for harvesting.

Picnic watermelon:

Another watermelon variety, the Picnic, is bigger, ranging from 16 to 45 pounds (7-20 kg) or more, making it ideal for sharing at a picnic. These are the classic oblong or spherical melons with green skin and delicious, crimson flesh, which take around 85 days to ripen. Here are a few examples:

1.     Sweet Crimson

‘Crimson Sweet’ is a tasty, prolific, and disease-resistant open-pollinated picnic-type heritage cultivar that remains a favorite among many gardeners.

This big, spherical cultivar has pale green skin with deep green stripes and averages approximately 25-35 pounds when harvested. The flesh of this watermelon is dark crimson, solid, and finely textured, with tiny black seeds.

2.     Princess Sweetheart

Sweet Princess is a disease-resistant, open-pollinated heritage watermelon with rectangular melons that reach 20-30 pounds.

The rinds of the fruits are pale green with darker green marbled and are thin yet robust. Pink, crisp, and delicious flesh with a delicate smoothness and tiny tan seeds. Picnic watermelons with pink skin grow to be 15 inches long and nine inches broad.

Personal watermelon:

If you enjoy watermelon but wished you could collect single-serving fruits, personal type melons would brighten your day. These cultivars range in weight from three to six pounds and are delicious sliced in half and eaten with a spoon all at once. Personal variety of watermelons are also a godsend for those of us who live in areas with short growing seasons and a threat of freezing because they are the first to mature.

1.     Golden Midget

‘Golden Midget’ is a little watermelon cultivar that will make your melon patch stand out — literally. When fully ripened, the rinds of this open-pollinated variety become yellow, making plucking a breeze.

The spherical fruits are small, weighing about three pounds apiece, and have delicious pink flesh with black seeds. ‘Golden Midget’ is a very early cultivar that’s ideal for short-season farmers, with fruit available in just 70 days.

2.     Mini Love

Mini Love is a small and high-yielding cultivar that delivers single-serving-size spherical watermelons. In 2017, this cultivar was named the All-America Selections winner in the edible category, thanks to its crack-resistant peels and delicious flavor.

Fruits weigh three to six pounds and are produced in clusters of six per plant. This cultivar’s flesh is bright red and rich in sugar, making it a delightful and juicy personal-sized delicacy.

Giant watermelon:

We’ve all heard of gardeners producing enormous pumpkins, but big watermelons aren’t as frequent. Some people have been losing out on this area of competitive gardening!

The biggest watermelon ever produced, as per Guinness World Records, weighing little over 350 pounds!

1.     Black Diamond Yellow Belly

‘Black Diamond Yellow Belly’ is a high-yielding, open-pollinated heritage cultivar with somewhat rectangular fruit and dark blue-black rinds that become bright yellow where the melons come into contact with the soil. Fruits have a deep crimson flesh with a smooth texture.

2.     Florida Giant

‘Florida Giant’ yields spherical fruits that average 30-40 pounds but can reach 50 pounds under ideal conditions. This classic open-pollinated cultivar with a dark green skin and delicious red meat was first developed in the 1940s.

Icebox watermelon:

Icebox watermelons are shorter than their contemporaries, weighing 5 to 15 pounds, and are intended to support one person or a small family (2-7 kg.). These are an excellent option if you’re worried about not getting ready to eat a full picnic watermelon once it’s been sliced open.

1.     Sugar Baby Bush

Searching for a shrub watermelon that’s ideal for tiny areas or even containers gardening? We’ve got your back. On “space-saving” vines, ‘Bush Sugar Baby’ yields an equivalent of two 12-pound melons per unit.

2.     Mountain Blacktail

If you want to produce watermelons but your environment seems like an icebox at night, even in the middle of July, ‘Blacktail Mountain’ may be the answer. This short-season open-pollinated cultivar was developed in Northern Idaho and can withstand cold overnight temperatures.

Yellow/orange-skinned watermelon:

Finally, yellow/orange-skinned watermelon plant types, which are generally round and can be seeded or seedless, are discussed. You might like to try one of these colorful varieties if you’re the daring kind that enjoys producing distinctive garden fruits and veggies in all hues of the rainbow.

1.     Gold in Gold

The 2017 All-America Choices winner, ‘Gold in Gold,’ is an early developing yellow-fleshed hybrid cultivar. Not only do these icebox-sized watermelons have a golden interior, but they also have a two-toned yellowish and golden skin.

2.     Yellow Petite

Yellow Petite is an icebox watermelon without seeds that matures early. Fruits are six to ten pounds in size and have pale green shells with deep green stripes, often described as ‘Petite Yellow.’

More about watermelon:

Watermelon Lemonade

How To Cut Watermelon?

Can Dogs Eat Watermelon?

Watermelon Cake

Cucumber, Basil, and Watermelon Salad

If you enjoyed this post about Types of Watermelon and would love to see more, join me on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter!