TEXAS NEIGHBORS | SUMMER 2023 By Shelby Shank Field Editor Childhood memories are filled with watermelon for Darren Wig-gins. He remembers running through the fields and eating the sweet slices of watermelon all summer long, and now he grows the melons in the Rio Grande Valley. “I just grew up farming. It’s something that when we were little kids, just big enough to walk, we were in the watermel-on fields. We just grew up doing it,” Wiggins, a third-generation farmer, said. “My family has been growing watermelons for forever. It started with my great-granddad, my granddad, my fa-ther and I followed in their foot-steps.” In 2000, Wiggins made the decision to move his family from East Texas to the Valley and be-gin growing his own watermel-ons at Wiggins Farms. Wiggins farms 800 acres of watermelons in Willacy County between Lasara and Dilley, work-ing alongside his sons Jared and Jesse. “We farm other commodi-ties, but watermelon is my hap-py commodity,” Wiggins said. “Watermelon makes you smile, makes kids smile. It’s a treat.” important for watermelons to be covered by as much vine and leaves as possible to protect the melon from getting sunburned. Growing watermelons does come with challenges. “Disease is probably the big-gest challenge we face. Fusarium wilt is a bad one that can take out a field of watermelons,” Wig-gins said. “Downey mildew and powdery mildew are airborne dis-and cut the watermelons from the vine prior to another group of people coming through and picking up the watermelons to place in field trucks,” Wiggins said. “Then, we haul the wa-termelons from the field to the shed where they are packed in boxes and sent off to the gro-cery stores. A good crew makes it easy.” Wiggins employs about 80 I’ve always had my heart and soul set on doing what my father did—growing watermelons. — Jared Wiggins eases that can take the crop out. Worms are a big issue, but white fly here in the Valley is a real big issue.” Weather is also a challenge. Too much rain can be devastating to the crop. “Last year, we had three inches of rain while we were growing the crop. And this year, we’ve prob-ably had 11 inches of rain grow-ing the crop. It’s harder to make melons in wet weather,” Wiggins said. “They’re a desert crop. So, the wetter it is, the harder it is to make good quality melons.” Sandy and well-drained soil is best for growing watermelons. Wiggins uses drip irrigation and fertilizes his watermelons every 14 to 21 days with fungicide or in-secticide to keep the melons free from disease. people during harvest to cut, pick and pack. Wiggins Farms harvests 35 million to 40 million pounds of watermelons a year. They can be found in stores as far as Canada or as close as the neighborhood grocery store. ting mature. The soil stains the watermelon while it sits and matures. “You can look at a watermel-on two different ways. A water-melon is either light green with a dark stripe or a watermelon is dark green with a light stripe,” Wiggins said. “Is a zebra black and white or white and black? Watermelons are the same way, but the further apart the domi-nant stripe is, the more mature the melon is.” A family legacy Each year, Wiggins prepares the land, plants the seeds, nur-tures the soil and grows the crop with a little extra faith, hope and love. And it’s reward-ing to farm alongside his sons and wife. “I’ve always had my heart and soul set on doing what my father did—growing watermel-ons,” Jared, the youngest son, said. Jesse also takes pride in sharing his family’s story in growing watermelons and hopes to continue that tradition in the future. Farming with family isn’t without its challenges, but it’s a lifestyle the Wiggins family cherishes. And it brings them joy to see other families mak-ing memories around the wa-termelons grown at Wiggins Farms. “The most rewarding thing about growing watermelons is getting up in the morning and seeing the social media post about people happy with a watermelon at the beach or a birthday party or a family event,” Wiggins said. Seeing families enjoying the sweet taste of summer with ev-ery slice of watermelon—that’s why the Wiggins family takes such pride in growing them. And will continue to do so for years to come. Finding the perfect watermelon When shopping for watermel-ons, Wiggins said there are a few tips to find just the right one. “For me, it’s easy because I’m used to looking at them. Gener-ally, a good watermelon is going to have a stained belly from sit-ting on the earth,” Wiggins said. “It’s going to have a stained belly and a little wider stripe. The fur-ther apart the stripe is, general-ly the more mature the melon is. But the belly is the best indica-tor of a good watermelon.” A yellow belly or a yellow stain on a watermelon means it is mature. When watermelons are finished growing, they start get-Growing watermelons They prepare the soil in Octo-ber. Seeds are planted the last week of December in the green-house and then planted in the ground at the beginning of Feb-ruary. After being transplanted from the greenhouse and into the ground, it takes 75 to 85 days for the melons to be ready for har-vest, which begins in May and concludes in October or Novem-ber—depending on the weather. Watermelons need plenty of sun and water to help them grow. Wiggins noted it’s also Labor of love Planting and harvesting water-melons is a labor-intensive job. “It’s all done by manual labor. We have cutters that go through WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG