Title: Best Prices Watermelon - Picking Ripe | Kitchn
Headings: Here’s How Much You Should Be Paying for Watermelons (and How to Find a Good One)
Here’s How Much You Should Be Paying for Watermelons (and How to Find a Good One)
How Much Watermelons Cost
How to Pick a Ripe Watermelon at a Farmers Market
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Content: Beyond that, it depends greatly on when and where you’re buying your melon. Karen King, co-owner of Mt. Citra Farm, says prices change throughout the season, following supply and demand. “ The price starts out higher — and as more crops come in, goes down,” she explains. As supplies dwindle with the summer, they’ll spike again. Location also matters. “ Price can fluctuate even within the same city, neighborhood by neighborhood,” says Stephanie Barlow, the senior director of communications at the National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB). So use those USDA price as a guideline, rather than a rule — and when buying watermelons, don’t assume your local farmer will be more expensive. “ We try to price ours the same as the store, because then people will buy it from us,” King says with a laugh. If you buy directly from a farmer, she promised you’ll be able to taste a difference. Whereas those big boxes of watermelons can take a week or more to reach the customer, local watermelons are “ripened on the vine,” making them “sweeter and fresher and crisper.”