Tuesday, June 18, 2024
From 1:30 p.m. on June 16 (Sun.), 35 boxes of melons (each box weighing over 8 kg) were brought in by Yasunori Watanabe, a 61-year-old farmer, as the first shipment of "Hokuryu Sunflower Melons" at the selection area of the JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu Branch's agricultural produce collection and shipping facility.
First shipment of Hokuryu Sunflower Melons
Story by Yasunori Watanabe
The best in recent years.
This year, we had bad weather and cold weather from early spring, so we were worried because of ball enlargement and other problems. However, when it was done, it turned out to be one of the best in recent years. The netting on the outer skin and the mesh pattern were good, and the sugar content was 17.2 degrees (16.5 degrees last year), a level of sweetness rarely seen in recent years. Normally, melons are shipped when the sugar content is 14 degrees or higher.
This year's melons are full of vigor and strength in the axis tree itself. I think the sweetness came on board in the latter half of the ripening period.
If the roots and wood are weak, the tree will weaken during growth. As it weakens, the balls become yellow and soft.
Melons are ripened after purchase for best taste.
Melons are mellowed by ripening them. The sweetness of the melon does not change, but the sweetness spreads throughout the flesh, making the fruit softer and mellower, and it is ready to eat.
Mr. Watanabe told us that the best time to eat melons is when the melon is fragrant, the vine is brown and wilted, and the bottom is soft and elastic.
Cultivation and sale of Hokuryu sunflower melons, etc.
This year, the Hokuryu Melon Production Cooperative has 25 melon growers with a total area of 480 a. By mid-August, the cooperative aims to ship 20,000 cases of melons and achieve sales of approximately 100 million yen.
It will be sold at "JA Kitasorachi, Roadside Station Rice Land Fukagawa, Agricultural Products Direct Sales Store eciR" and "Agricultural and Livestock Products Direct Sales Store Minoricchi Hokuryu" stores in Hokuryu Town from this weekend.
After the green melons, "red flesh melons (Hokuto melons)" will be shipped from the end of August to mid-October by four farmers in Hokuryu Town.
Sunflower melon, the king of summer fruits, boasting fresh sweetness and smooth texture!
We send our unlimited love, gratitude, and prayers to the superb Hokuryu Sunflower Melon, which is full of love, sweetness, and delicacies that bring happiness to people all over Japan.
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◇ Reporting and writing by Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editorial assistance by Noboru Terauchi) 
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