ARE WATERMELON LEAVES EDIBLE?
Watermelon or Citrullus lanatus is a well-known fruit that grows in tropical to temperate regions. There is no doubt about watermelon fruit, yes, of course, it is edible, and you can taste watermelon fruit by fresh or cook.
But can we try any other part of the watermelon plant?
Since ancient times, people have been accustomed to eating plant leaves in many countries. So, are watermelon leaves edible? However, you cannot eat every plant leaf as your wish because it can be toxic.
I am generally said this, but here’s what the M. J. Stephens, Department of Horticulture, University of Florida, says about watermelon leaves. Most probably, watermelon leaves are edible. But if you want to eat this leaf, it is a must to cook before. Because, eating raw leaves can be slightly toxic in some cases.
So, let’s check the cases that can be toxic when eating watermelon leaves?
Eating large amounts of watermelon leaves can cause gastrointestinal blockage. Not only leaves but also watermelon seeds, rinds, and stems can contribute to this case. Therefore, if you have any gastrointestinal issues, do not eat watermelon leaves, watermelon stems, and seeds.
WHY ARE SOME WATERMELONS SWEETER THAN OTHERS?
Watermelon is the best drink for enjoying your summer with a cool feeling. That’s the main reason that watermelon is famous among fruit fans. But it is not only a summer snack, but it is also a healthy pack.
Last month I bought a watermelon, its taste is great! So, I needed to taste it again, and I bought another watermelon in the same store. But it is not sweet like the first one. Did you experience that some watermelon is sweeter than other watermelons?
Why does it happen? How does it happen, and how do we pick the best watermelon?
The time when you taste less sweet watermelon, surely, you may have a series of questions like these in your mind. I am sure from this moment on you will be able to taste sweet and the best watermelons. Because further reading will meet you with the sweetest watermelon, so enjoy it.
Generally, watermelon is a pack of water, and it can be measured around 92%. So, watermelon taste depends on several factors. Simply it can be concluded as bellows.
watermelon plant’s growing conditions
The taste or sweetness highly depends on the watermelon plant’s growing conditions. If it grows under the best condition, watermelon gives a better sweet flavor to your mouth.
temperature level
Another most important thing is watermelon plants need to grow with the right temperature level and the right amount of precipitation because it is important.
Climate
If watermelon harvest exposes to heavy rains, fruit can become soggy. Consequently, it will cause to reduce the taste of the watermelon.
Similarly, a too-dry climate is also a reason to decrease the sweetness of the watermelon because roots will tend to pull sugar out of the watermelon.
watermelon plant’s variety
On the other hand, hybrid watermelons are commonly available in the current market. However, these watermelons sacrifice flavor for hardiness.
In addition to that, if you pick watermelon that does not ripen well, surely you cannot taste sweet flavor like ripened watermelon.
WHY DOES WATERMELON HAVE WHITE AND BLACK SEEDS?
As a watermelon fan, l like to enjoy it as small pieces. If you are like me, the most terrible trouble is watermelon is seeds.If you clearly check, there are two types of seeds in watermelons. Check out the next cut.
Black seeds
Black seeds in watermelon are plain ol’ seeds. These seeds can be recognized as mature and fertilized seeds. So, if you plant to grow a watermelon plant, it is better to plant these few black seeds on your ground.
Can you eat these black watermelon seeds? What do you think?
At first glance, we think it is hard to eat. But actually, it is totally safe to consume. Therefore, you can try it because they are rich in many valuable nutrients. However, you can eat these watermelon seeds in 3 ways.
- Make sprouted watermelon seeds and eat them as a healthy snack
- You can use watermelon seed oil
- Enjoy the roast watermelon seeds, and it will be awesome
However, seedless watermelon varieties always try to eliminate the black seeds.
White seeds
If you notice clearly, you can find white seeds mostly on the middle area of the watermelon. These are not hard. However, when it turns to the appearance of this type of seeds, these are often almost translucent in color. But it is generally referred to as white color seeds.
At present, watermelons are encouraged to infertile seeds and discourage seeds from reaching maturity due to convenience and other factors. However, you will definitely always find a few of these white immature seeds in any variety of watermelon.
Further, not like black seeds, you can consume white seeds easily without a thought because they do not have a little taste or crunch.
However, some peoples complain that the watermelons with white seeds have a different taste. But the point of view of farmers and experts is that breeding to reduce seeds maturity does not change the taste of the watermelons.
WHY DOES WATERMELON HAVE STRIPES?
Watermelons have stripes. But some people misunderstand stripes as stretch marks. The stripes are formed by the density of the chlorophyll, where a higher concentration of chlorophyll causes a darker or black color and less green. Also, the seeds in the watermelon are arranged parallel to the stripes.
However, stripes patterns can be varied with watermelon variety. It means that you can identify the watermelon variety by examining the stripes.
But there are more than 1200 verities of watermelons that grow in 96 countries all around the world. So, there are many many variations, and for instance, the variety of dark green watermelon does not have stripes.
But some growers said when ripe your watermelon, you can identify by examining the stripes on the fruit. But some growers said that the stripes do not indicate ripeness. So, this topic will be discussed yet.
WHY DOES SEEDLESS WATERMELON HAVE SEEDS?
Hybrid watermelon is a concept that goes beyond the regular watermelon. So, we feel like we solved all our watermelon problems when it comes to the seedless watermelon.
It is time to enjoy our summer with pieces of watermelon without spitting out black seeds. Right? But is that completely right?
Yes, of course, I agree that seedless watermelon does not have any black seeds.
Plus, seedless watermelon is hybrid watermelons whose seeds fail to mature into hard, dark seeds. But here, it does not mean that the seedless watermelons are totally free with seeds.
Generally, this type of watermelon also tries to produce seeds, but the seeds cannot grow because of hybridization.
Consequently, you can find white seeds in seedless watermelons. So, these white seeds can be defined as hollow shells of seeds that do not have matured.
Yes, they are seeds but soft and immature. However, these white seeds are totally edible. You do not have to split seeds anymore.
HOW LONG DOES A WATERMELON PLANT LIVE?
Watermelon or Citrullus lanatus can be defined as annual plants. So, the farmers have to replant watermelon plants every season. On the other hand, the watermelon plant does not survive the winter either as a fully-grown plant or seedlings.
Suppose you are love to garb knowledge by discovering and searching. It is time to use your search bar. Research on climates of the countries where watermelon preferred to grow.
Generally, watermelon needs a warm climate to grow quickly and be tasty. A mainly warm climate helps to produce sweet and juicy watermelon.
So basically, the lifespan of the watermelon highly depends on the two main factors. They are the watermelon variety that you select to grow and the climate of the area where you live.
So, these plants only last from lasting through harvest or the first killing frost that plants have to face. But if you live in the tropical region, you can ignore the frost.
HOW LONG DOES A IT TAKE TO GROW A WATERMELON?
Generally, the watermelon plant takes around 3 months or 80 to 90 days to grow from seed to mature plant. But this time period can be varied with watermelon variety because there are many varieties of watermelon.
For instance, some smaller watermelon varieties like sugar babies have the ability to reach maturity size within around 70 days.
DO WATERMELON PLANTS GROW BACK EVERY YEAR?
Watermelon plants can be defined as an annual plants and do not grow back every year. It means that the watermelon plant completes its lifecycle within one season, and the first frost kills them.
So, as a watermelon grower, you have to sow watermelon seeds every year. But I should be thankful because watermelons plants can be categorized as fast-growing plants. Another added advantage is that planting new watermelon plants each year will reduce the risk of diseases.
