So far in our ongoing “Behind the Watermelon” series, we’ve learned about the yellow flesh watermelon. Today I thought I’d shed a little light on a popular variety known as the Ice Box.
The round Ice Box is one of the smaller types of watermelon (5 to 15 pounds) and is available in varieties like the Tiger Baby, Sugar Baby, Mickeylee, Minilee, Petite Sweet, and Yellow Doll. With such adorable names, it’s no wonder the Ice Box is one of America’s most popular watermelons (just ask this person). Other than cute names, they’re popular mainly for their compact size, which allows buyers to fit them easily inside their refrigerator or a picnic cooler. For the same reasons, farmers like growing the Ice Box because they can grow more of them in a field.
The Ice Box is available mainly with red flesh, but can also be found with yellow or cream-colored flesh (we’ll cover cream fleshed watermelons in detail in the future).
Overall, I have to admit I’m a big fan of the Ice Box varieties, and not just for the convenient size. I’ve found them to be very sweet and tasty watermelons. Again, that’s probably because of the size because the flavor is more concentrated in a smaller package!
how do you know when to pick a watermelon out of your garden? We have icebox and sugar babies. Picked one too early it was white on the inside, but we thought it was done. We don’t want to waste any more, could you please give us some good tips as to when to pick? Thank you
Good question, Susan. I’m not an experienced watermelon grower myself, but I have seen tips online that help answer the “when to pick” question. You can’t go wrong with the farmer’s almanac, so here’s Nine Ways to Tell If Your Watermelon Is Ripe:
http://www.almanac.com/food/watermelonripe.php
If that doesn’t work, and you want more info, I’d suggest checking in with your local County Extension Service Agent, who should be able to give more detailed information on watermelon growing specific to your area. They can be contacted through
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html.
Just click on your state, and it will direct you to extension services in your area. Hope this helps!
Mine split,
about 7 in in diameter. was looking so good. split about 1 inch into the rind, all white no pink flesh on the bottom of the fruit. this is where the melon split. Is it still salvageable?