LEESBURG—Some consumers thump watermelons to determine ripeness. Others check for yellow spots. But there is one foolproof method for choosing the best melon.

“Know your grower,” said Rick Brossman, a Loudoun County produce farmer who helps operate Brossman’s Family Farm and Farmstand.

The fourth-generation farmer grows multiple varieties of watermelon, cantaloupe and other crops on 85 acres to suit the tastes and dietary needs of Northern Virginia’s diverse ethnic populations. With a meticulous process that starts in winter, the Brossmans graft their watermelons to naturally resist blight and parasites.

“Most watermelons wilt in heat, but these won’t because of vigorous grafts on the root stalk,” Brossman said. “Grafted melon produces a strong root base that’s enormous, able to draw in all the nutrients we feed.”

Brossman’s watermelon inventory includes seedless Sugar Babies, seeded Sangria Melons, Yellow Babies and Bottle Rockets.

“The sugar babies are by far the best watermelon in my opinion,” he said. “They’re as sweet as can be.”

Netted muskmelons, commonly referred to as cantaloupe, also run the gamut of sweetness and texture. Some communities within Brossman’s customer base prefer large, fleshy fruit, and others seek intense sweetness.

“There is much diversity in the specialty muskmelon group,” said Chris Mullins, Virginia Cooperative Extension horticulture specialist at Virginia State University. “Each melon type has unique textures, flavors, and vary in their sweetness. Some have more sweetness and flavor than the traditional cantaloupe.”

Brossman’s cantaloupes include traditionally sweet Athenas, and larger, honey-sweet Aphrodites, plus deep-yellow canary melons, also known as Spanish melon, with a blend of cantaloupe and honeydew flavors.

The Spanish melon has an “extremely crisp, clean, sweet taste,” Brossman explained.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 census shows cantaloupes are grown on 301 acres across 155 Virginia farms. Watermelon is grown on 241 farms totaling 595 acres. Those numbers, reported every five years by the nation’s farmers, represent a drop in production since the 2017 census.

There are still enough melons to go around, and they can be found at Virginia farmstands and supermarkets during the summer season. For urban consumers searching grocery bins for a crowd-pleasing watermelon, a yellow belly may be an indication of ripeness.

And there are other visual clues at harvest, said Chris Drake of Sandy Point Farms in Southampton County.

“For watermelon that has stripes, its stripes will start to break, and there will be clear definition between the stripe and non-stripe,” he said. “That will indicate maturity, though every variety is different.”

Media: Contact Brossman at 703-727-4493 or Mullins at 804-524-5834.