Winning Watermelons!

Hope Arkansas is a city with a least two claims to fame. Of course, it’s the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton. But you may not know that it’s also home to the largest watermelons on the planet — a phenomenon that, for decades, has cultivated a growing trend among “hopeful” gardeners. Maybe you’ve seen the fruits of their labors featured on the evening news each year as contestants enter their behemoths in fairs and festivals across the country. The current, heavyweight world champion watermelon was grown in 2013, tipping the scales at an incredible 350.5 pounds!

One seed variety called the “Carolina Cross” has been specially developed by a Hope, Arkansas family farm to produce only the largest fruit. In fact, all of the watermelon world records during the past thirty-five years have been achieved using this seed variety. So if you are planning a summer picnic with 100 of your closest friends, you might consider planting the Carolina Cross watermelon seed and…