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The
official weigh-in was conducted at the Morgan Farmers Co-op in
Hartselle.
Knight
said his father helped him pick the melon and transport it to the store.
"It
was a struggle," said Knight. "I thought as we were lifting it
that it might weigh more than expected."
Knight
had estimated the weight of the melon at 180 pounds. This estimate was
based on a chart that uses the melon’s diameter as a guideline.
Knight
had already picked a 138-pounder by himself and thought he needed help
with the bigger one.
"I
was shocked when we weighed it," recalled Knight. "I kind of
wished I had let it go to 200 pounds."
To
his knowledge, Knight has produced the largest melon in Alabama. He read
about a man in Hughes who grew a 180-pounder.
Secrets
Galore
For
those of you hoping to gain some insight into the competitive world of
watermelon growing, don’t look for much help from Knight. He is still
in the learning process himself.
"Growing
secrets are hard to come by," said the 39-year-old gardener.
"It’s mostly trial and error because nobody wants to give away
their secrets."
Knight
said he keeps up with other growers across the country via the Internet.
He
noted, however, that not much bragging is going on this year because of
all the crazy weather.
Some
of the wider-known secrets include using a tent to shade the melons from
the sun. Knight said too much sun will cause the fruit to blister.
He
placed his melons on plywood to help keep insects from boring into them.
Once insects get inside, the melon can explode.
"I
had one melon that would have been larger than this one if the bugs hadn’t
gotten into it," said Knight. "That kind of thing
happens."
Knight
said he had five melons he was grooming to be the Big One.
Besides
the one with insect damage, one of melons cross-pollinated with a
neighbor’s Black Diamond melons and was knocked out of the race.
This
was only Knight’s second year to attempt the melons in Alabama. He
moved from Arkansas three years ago.
He
said last year he did nothing out of the ordinary and still produced a
132-pound watermelon.
This
year, he dug three-foot holes and filled them with equal parts of sand,
manure and topsoil. He’s heard, however, that the current advice is to
make the holes five feet.
Growing
Process
Beside
secret techniques, the rest of the growing process is quite normal.
Knight
prepares his garden plot for planting by fertilizing with 13-13-13. Once
the vines are up, he uses water soluble Miracle Gro.
Knight
said there are two critical factors that affect his ability to produce a
prize-winning melon—water and pollination.
Once
the vines are planted on the prepared hills, Knight uses a drip
irrigation system to ensure the vines have enough water to produce the
large melons.
"It
takes a lot of water to produce melons of any kind, especially these
large ones," said Knight. "I set up the drip system to give
them what they needed."
When
the vines were young, they required about three gallons each per day.
Just prior to him picking the 195-pounder, Knight said it was using 15
gallons per day.
Just
as important as water is the pollination process.
While
regular melon growers leave the process up to Mother Nature, those in
the hunt for the Big One leave nothing to chance.
"Because
of the drought, I used an artist paint brush to manually pollinate the
flowers on the vines I planted," recalled Knight. "Even then,
one of the flowers cross-pollinated with the neighbor’s plants."
He
said he might have had better luck this year had the weather cooperated.
Knight noted that the long stretch of 100-degree days really hindered
the growing process of his melons.
Knight,
a devoted record keeper, said the growth of his melons slowed way down
during the heat wave.
He
measured the melons daily with tape measures that were place under the
melons while they still small.
His
largest melon—the 195-pounder—measured 60 inches around the day it
was picked.
Knight
said it was a good thing the melon was ready to be picked because his
tape only measured up to 60 inches. He said he will use longer tapes
next year.
The Seeds
The
seeds Knight uses came from the current record-holders who live in
Arkansas.
Knight
said the Bright family holds the current record for the world’s
largest watermelon—268 pounds.
He
said the family has held the record since the 1950s, except for a couple
of years.
"The
Bright family is serious about growing prize watermelons," said
Knight. "They will plant 250 hills."
Knight
said he plans to increase his plantings next year from five to eight.
What Do
You Do With a 195-Pound Watermelon?
Asked
if such large melons were good to eat, Knight said they were
"pretty good."
He
had watermelon wine made out of last year’s 132-pounder.
This
year’s melon will likely suffer the same fate, at least in part. Some
of the melon will be eaten, Knight said.
Of
course, he will save some of the fruit’s 1,000 or so seeds to use next
season. The rest he plans to give away at the Co-op store in Decatur,
where his wife, Renee, works.
Contact
Information
When
he’s not growing huge watermelons, Knight serves as Sergeant First
Class in the United States Army. Stationed at Ft. McClellan, Knight has
served in the Army for more than 20 years.
Persons
interested in contacting Knight may call him at (256) 303-0794.
Susie
Sims is a freelance writer from Haleyville. |
