I’ve scoured the internet for seed spitting contests in my area (south central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Maryland) and have found nothing too promising. I’ve found contests that used to be held in my neck of the woods, but no evidence that they still are. Oh well, the search continues. In the meantime, I’ll study the video below in which seed spitters discuss their techniques.

Even though the recipe below for watermelon s’mores isn’t quite the same as a traditional campfire s’more, it’s the perfect standby when you’re camped out at home with friends and family.

WATERMELON S’MORES

INGREDIENTS

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup chocolate fudge sauce

4  two-inch by four-inch by one-inch thick rectangles of seedless watermelon

1 cup mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the center of 4 plates. Drizzle 1/3 of the fudge sauce over the crumbs. Place a watermelon rectangle over the crumbs and chocolate on each plate. Drizzle 1/3 of the chocolate fudge sauce over the watermelon. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the watermelon and drizzle the remaining chocolate fudge sauce over the marshmallows. Serves 4.

According to the website where it’s sold, this one liter bottle of heaven is made from “100% pure pressed watermelon.”

So, what can you do with a bottle of watermelon juice? I guess you could pour yourself a tall glass and drink it on a hot summer day. That’s the first thing that comes to mind. You could also use it to make watermelon juice ice cubes (though you could do that with pureed watermelon, too). You can also use watermelon juice in recipes. It’s really up to you!

By the way, the winner of our February prize — the watermelon growing kit — is Courtney. Congrats Courtney, and thanks to everyone who left a comment last month. Keep ‘em coming!

I hear you loud and clear, Matthew. It seems like all you can find these days are seedless watermelons, but every now and then, for old time’s sake, it would be nice to have one with seeds, right?  

While the seedless and mini varieties have taken over in popularity and demand, there certainly are still many folks who grow and sell the seeded watermelons, oblong in shape, chock full of black seeds. I get a lot of comments from people who remember the long, sweet watermelons of their youth and do not think that the seedless varieties are as good, but there is no science that supports the notion that a seeded watermelon is sweeter than a seedless.

If you really have a yearning for seeded watermelons, there are two things you can do: 1) check your local farmers’ markets and 2) talk to your local produce manager at your grocery store. He can take the request up to the store’s buyers. If a buyer believes that his customers will buy a seeded watermelon, he’ll be more apt to supply for the store. If he won’t stock seeded watermelon (which isn’t likely), ask him if he knows where you might find some.

Hope this helps,

The Watermelon Guy

Good question, Andrew. I do love watermelon, probably more than I love any other fruit or vegetable. Some people would call my love of watermelon “fanatical” or “extreme” or “borderline obsessive.” But I think it’s a healthy obsession, not only because watermelon is a healthy food, but because out of all the things I could be obsessed with, it could be worse. For example, I once knew a girl who was frighteningly obsessed with a certain boy band. It was scary. We almost held an intervention for her, but the band broke up and she moved on to other pursuits.

As for the second part of your question – about watermelon and I living together in wedded bliss – I’m afraid that’s just not possible. First of all, I’m already married to a wonderful woman who happily supports my watermelon obsession. But even if I wasn’t married, there’s the whole issue of societal norms and whether or not it’s even legal to marry a watermelon. I’m pretty sure it isn’t, at least not in my state.

But even if it was legal AND socially acceptable to wed fruits and vegetables, I still wouldn’t take the plunge, mainly because I could never dedicate myself to just one watermelon.

It’s actually this Sunday, so all the guys reading this and having a heart attack right now thinking they forgot can actually relax knowing they’ve got two days left to buy flowers, pick out a card and make those dinner reservations.

If you do all that, one thing might lead to another and the romantic holiday could live up to the hype. If that’s the case, you’ll be happy to know that watermelon has been linked to helping to improve, um… performance.

The kit is actually an all-in-one product called the Sprout n Grow Greenhouse (above) that allows you to grow your very own Sugar Baby watermelons. It includes watermelon seeds, a windowsill greenhouse, planting mixture, instructions and an information sheet. The green thumb is sold separately (can you buy those?) but as a What About Watermelon reader, you will have access to our panel of experts, including watermelon farmer Josh Bailey, who would be more than happy to give you some pointers if you need them.

One comment chosen at random from all the comments received here on What About Watermelon in February will win this prize. Good luck!

There are all sorts of facts and statistic about heart health and why it’s important for everyone to learn more about their ticker (for themselves and their loved ones), but the statistic that drives the point home for me is that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States among men and women.

There are a lot of things you can do to create a healthier heart – eat right, exercise, educate yourself about your heart – and I won’t get into all of them here (I’ll let the American Heart Association website do that), but I would like to remind everyone about the heart healthy benefits of fruit and vegetables including watermelon. Actually, I’ll let the National Watermelon Promotion Board do that, too. The National Watermelon Promotion Board (the owner of this blog, of course) has a page on their website about watermelon and heart health that lists the following facts:

1. Watermelon consumption increases free arginine, which can help to maintain cardiovascular function.
2. Eating watermelon can help to maintain cardiovascular health.
3. Watermelon has amino acids, which can help maintain blood flow and heart health.

So how will you observe National Heart Health Month? Might I suggest starting with a trip to your local grocery store’s produce aisle?

FOOTBALL CAKE

INGREDIENTS

Large seedless oblong shaped watermelon
2 cups cream cheese frosting
Licorice strips

DIRECTIONS

Slice two of the sides lengthwise down the watermelon to expose a large watermelon surface on both sides. Cut a football shaped marquis out of the watermelon. Place the watermelon cut into a football shape on a platter. Slice into thin slices but leave assembled as a football. Decorate with the frosting and licorice ties to look like a football with stitches. Serves 18 to 24.