A couple of years ago, Landmark Park started hosting a Watermelon Tasting program at the end of July. Visitors were able to sample several varieties of watermelons grown at Landmark Park.
This popular program will return on July 27 at 10 a.m. on the Wiregrass Farmstead. Master Gardener Tom Boyle has been working all season in the garden, growing the heirloom varieties of Moon and Stars, Jubilee, Charleston Gray, Crimson Sweet and Black Diamond. The Alabama Watermelon Association will also attend the tasting, so people will have a chance to meet one of the state's Watermelon Queens. Recipe cards, activity sheets and other goodies will be available at the tasting, courtesy of the Alabama Watermelon Association (www.alwatermelon.org). This program is FREE with your paid gate admission.
A few fun facts about Watermelons (taken from the Alabama Watermelon Association's website):
- The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
- Watermelon is 92% water.
- Watermelon's official name is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. It is cousins to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
- By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the U.S., followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
- Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.
- The first cookbook published in the U.S. in 1776 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.
- Updated! According to Guinness World Records, the world's heaviest watermelon was grown by Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 2005, weighing in at 268.8 lbs (121.93 kg). Lloyd grew and weighed in for the Annual Hope, Arkansas Big Watermelon Contest on September 3, 2005.
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