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Hobby grower strives for 200-pound melon
By SEAN CLOUGHERTY
Managing Editor
STREET, Md. — Bradley and Cathleen Northcote have a growing family with sons Jack, 3, and Luke, who was born just a few weeks ago. And, if you throw in the 26 giant watermelons they pamper through the summer, the family gets big in a hurry.
“It’s like a baby, man. You treat each one like a little kid,” Bradley said, scouting the two rows of Carolina Cross watermelons in his backyard.
Northcote started growing “giants” four years ago after moving to Harford County. His first year he grew a 38-pounder.
“I was really excited about that,” he said. “I’ve never farmed before so I’m just having fun with it. This is pretty much learn as I go,” he said.
Now, he has learned enough to start turning out some whoppers. Last year he brought three monster melons to the Maryland State Fair, one weighing 134.5 pounds and winning the President’s Award in the Farm and Garden Building.
This year, plans are in place for Northcote to take one of his giants to New York City to be featured on NBC’s Today Show on August 31.
Working out of his home as a building and construction estimator, Northcote said he spends a lot of time cooped up in his office and keeping the garden helps relieve work stress. Native to South Africa, he said he has a fondness for watermelon where the fruit was a big part of the end-of-the-school-year celebrations.
“Every year we would have what we called a watermelon fight,” Northcote recalled. “It always stayed in my head.”
When the family moved to a four-acre property in Harford County, Northcote got the space he needed to get growing. Along with watermelons, he has a few pepper and tomato plants and some cantaloupes.
After learning more about diseases and pests common to watermelon production, he said he’s hoping to shatter his personal best from last year.
“I think I’ve got a handle on it for this year but that came with trial and error and asking questions. My goal is to grow a 200 pound watermelon,” he said.
The variety Northcote uses is known for its large size but only gets him so far toward his goal. The rest is checking on the crop a few times a day, spraying in the early morning and proper irrigation and fertilization timing among many other things.
“The trick to growing the giants is you’ve got to have only one watermelon per vine,” he added. That means perpetual pruning of secondary fruit after the main melon is selected for each vine through the summer months.
To get the gigantic fruit, Northcote spaces out the plants to about 20 feet apart, waters each plant by hand throughout the season and moves the vines periodically to keep them from tangling. When the temperature hit 100 degrees or more in July, he pulled out chairs, umbrellas, tables and anything else that would shade the fruit from the harsh sun.
“This year has been kind of hard,” he said. “The only thing making it this year is the watermelon.”
Once the melons reach a certain size, Norhtcote is careful to rotate them on the plastic mulch every few days to keep the bottoms for bruising or even rotting from the melon’s own weight. During the late spring and summer, the watermelon workload gets to be intense. More frequent spraying, watering and working the vines all keep Northcote hopping, he said.
And this year, with new son Luke on the way, Northcote only planted about half of the number of plants he had the last two years.
“Our neighbors said we should paint my stomach green,” Cathleen said with a laugh, blurring the line between real child and melon child.
By mid-July the melons look ready to eat because of their already large size — between 70 and 90 pounds. But the melons aren’t even close to mature and could double their weight by the time of the state fair. By then, the flesh will be red and juicy.
“It’s good even though it’s big. We eat as much as we can,” said Cathleen, who entered her own melon last year.
What they can’t eat, the give away to friends, neighbors, their church and food pantries.
By SEAN CLOUGHERTY
Managing Editor
STREET, Md. — Bradley and Cathleen Northcote have a growing family with sons Jack, 3, and Luke, who was born just a few weeks ago. And, if you throw in the 26 giant watermelons they pamper through the summer, the family gets big in a hurry.
“It’s like a baby, man. You treat each one like a little kid,” Bradley said, scouting the two rows of Carolina Cross watermelons in his backyard.
Northcote started growing “giants” four years ago after moving to Harford County. His first year he grew a 38-pounder.
“I was really excited about that,” he said. “I’ve never farmed before so I’m just having fun with it. This is pretty much learn as I go,” he said.
Now, he has learned enough to start turning out some whoppers. Last year he brought three monster melons to the Maryland State Fair, one weighing 134.5 pounds and winning the President’s Award in the Farm and Garden Building.
This year, plans are in place for Northcote to take one of his giants to New York City to be featured on NBC’s Today Show on August 31.
Working out of his home as a building and construction estimator, Northcote said he spends a lot of time cooped up in his office and keeping the garden helps relieve work stress. Native to South Africa, he said he has a fondness for watermelon where the fruit was a big part of the end-of-the-school-year celebrations.
“Every year we would have what we called a watermelon fight,” Northcote recalled. “It always stayed in my head.”
When the family moved to a four-acre property in Harford County, Northcote got the space he needed to get growing. Along with watermelons, he has a few pepper and tomato plants and some cantaloupes.
After learning more about diseases and pests common to watermelon production, he said he’s hoping to shatter his personal best from last year.
“I think I’ve got a handle on it for this year but that came with trial and error and asking questions. My goal is to grow a 200 pound watermelon,” he said.
The variety Northcote uses is known for its large size but only gets him so far toward his goal. The rest is checking on the crop a few times a day, spraying in the early morning and proper irrigation and fertilization timing among many other things.
“The trick to growing the giants is you’ve got to have only one watermelon per vine,” he added. That means perpetual pruning of secondary fruit after the main melon is selected for each vine through the summer months.
To get the gigantic fruit, Northcote spaces out the plants to about 20 feet apart, waters each plant by hand throughout the season and moves the vines periodically to keep them from tangling. When the temperature hit 100 degrees or more in July, he pulled out chairs, umbrellas, tables and anything else that would shade the fruit from the harsh sun.
“This year has been kind of hard,” he said. “The only thing making it this year is the watermelon.”
Once the melons reach a certain size, Norhtcote is careful to rotate them on the plastic mulch every few days to keep the bottoms for bruising or even rotting from the melon’s own weight. During the late spring and summer, the watermelon workload gets to be intense. More frequent spraying, watering and working the vines all keep Northcote hopping, he said.
And this year, with new son Luke on the way, Northcote only planted about half of the number of plants he had the last two years.
“Our neighbors said we should paint my stomach green,” Cathleen said with a laugh, blurring the line between real child and melon child.
By mid-July the melons look ready to eat because of their already large size — between 70 and 90 pounds. But the melons aren’t even close to mature and could double their weight by the time of the state fair. By then, the flesh will be red and juicy.
“It’s good even though it’s big. We eat as much as we can,” said Cathleen, who entered her own melon last year.
What they can’t eat, the give away to friends, neighbors, their church and food pantries.