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Our Farms
Delaware
Georgia
Michigan
Central Florida
South Florida
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Indiana
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Contrary to common belief, watermelon is a very high-maintenance crop. As we like to say, we are not in the business of growing watermelon because we raise watermelon! The weather must be just right; can’t be too hot or too cold, too windy or too dry. While we do have access to fruit year-round, domestically grown Sweet Mama season starts mid-April and goes through early September. Although the delicious, crisp and perfectly balanced fruit doesn’t become available until Mid-April, the Sweet Mama team is hard at work all year long getting our land ready and sourcing the best of seeds!
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The Process
STEP 1 - Early December
We begin by planting watermelon seeds in a greenhouse. These ideal growing conditions allow those little seeds to grow, grow, grow!
STEP 2 - Early December
While the seeds are planted in a green house, we’re hard at work outside to ensure the land is ready! We build beds and cover them in plastic to hold in daytime heat and moisture as well as guard against weeds. We also create mounds and gullies to safeguard the plants from excess rainwater.
STEP 3 - Mid-January
It’s moving day! The seedlings are transported from the greenhouse to the fields. The goal is to plant about 30 acres and wait several days before continuing to plant. We do this to ensure we have plenty of fresh watermelon to pick throughout the season.
STEP 4 - February/March
Get BUZZ-y! We bring in plenty of bees to pollinate the yellow flowers on the watermelon plants. Remember, none of this is possible without bees, so always bee friendly to our buzzing friends!
STEP 5 - April – September
About 90 days after being planted, our watermelons are ready to be picked and enjoyed!
Our Seeds
SUGAR FRESH
Uniform, red flesh fruit with small pips that produce mostly 36 and 45 bin counts. Strong, vigorous vine for less than ideal growing conditions
SWEET DAWN
Sweet Dawn is an early-maturing seedless variety. The 16-20 lb. fruit have a classic Crimson Sweet rind pattern, deep red, firm flesh and have shown less hollow heart issues than other early varieties
CAPTIVATION
Uniform, improved fruit set for high yield potential. Strong disease resistance and plant growth habit. Suitable for both fresh market and fresh-cut use. Mostly 45-count for whole fruit markets.
FASCINATION
Fascination produces excellent quality 16-20 lb. fruit that have a glossy and rich looking dark green striped rind pattern. The firm flesh is deep red, contains very small pips and has a great watermelon flavor.