It’s summer here in Eastern Colorado and that means Melon Season. We’re lucky to live close to some of the most exceptional melon fields anywhere in the world. At least that’s what the locals say and as a melon connoisseur, I tend to agree with them. I’m talking about Rocky Ford, Colorado, in the Arkansas Valley.
Rocky Ford was established in 1870 as an Arkansas River crossing, named by the famed scout, Kit Carson. They packed up and moved from the original location about six years later to get closer to the AT&SF Railroad, so they could ship all those crazy, good melons. The prime mover and shaker, who made melons great in the Arkansas Valley was George Washington Swink.
“Watermelons are smiles of summer.” – Anonymous
Besides courting the American Beet Sugar Company to town, he established the Rocky Ford Ditch. “The Ditch” is an extensive irrigation network that made sugar beets and melons possible. Rocky Ford claimed the title of “Melon Capitol of the World” back in the late 1880’s after Swink got the locals all fired up to grow cantaloupes and watermelons.
The fruit grew large and sweet back in those days when precipitation was plentiful and the river ran full. By the 1900’s they were shipping thousands of tons of melons all across the country. They probably sell more melon seeds than melons now-a-days but as melon connoisseurs we just have to make a pilgrimage or two each year, to the “Melon Capitol of the World.”
We love eating melons. Watermelon, Cantaloupe and Honeydew are the big three here in Colorado. They’re all so delicious, sweet and juicy, with that wonderful, colorful, soft, smooth melon flesh. When we lived down in Texas, it was the Pecos melons we always jonesed for and they were awesome too, but for me Rocky Ford reigns as the “Melon Capitol of the World.”
Almost all melons originated in either Africa or Southwest Asia but thankfully the early Explorers of Europe were Melon aficionados like us and transported seeds back to Europe and then on to the colonies here in the New World. Native Americans were maintaining their own unique cultivars developed from Spanish seeds, centuries ago.
“When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.” – Mark Twain
Melons are about 90% water and that juiciness quenches the powerful thirst we develop in the summer heat. Our bodies instinctively crave the sweet, nutritious electrolytes that make melons an ideal summertime food. Melons do more than just quench our thirst; they are full of essential antioxidants and nutrients, like Vitamin B, magnesium, potassium and fiber. They are also very low in calories, making them a nearly perfect food.
I probably don’t need to convince you to go eat some melon. They may just be the reason we all have such fond memories of summer. Besides being nutritional powerhouses and as sweet as candy, there are several compounds in melon that fight cancer. They battle inflammation and oxidative stress as well as improve heart health. Many of the compounds found in melon are known to improve digestion, relieve muscle soreness, aid skin health and even prevent macular degeneration. Amazing, right?
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ― Henry James
Mike I always love your presentation’s of life, keep them coming.
Did you bike to Rocky Ford?
Thank You. The panniers weren’t big enough to haul all those delicious melons back home, so we had to drive the car.
Love it!! Great Read!
Thanks, Dave!