Melon harvest begins, expected to last into October

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Workers in western Fresno County will tell you it's been a good year for the organic melon crop.

Harvest requires coordination as they quickly move through each row.

Crews are picking four types of melon at Del Bosque Farms, which ships them across the U.S. and into Canada.

"It's really cool to hear from folks like in Texas or in Kentucky or Florida that write to us and say we just had one of your melons and they were delicious," said Joe Del Bosque.

Cantaloupe, honeydew, mini-watermelon and a specialty melon called the Galia are grown commercially. Galia is native to the Middle East.

"The inside is white and it's sweet and juicy. It's a very refreshing melon," Del Bosque said.

Del Bosque says the melon crop has recovered nicely after a tough start.

"Early on we had trouble making size because we had that strange weather back in May, we had rain for weeks," he said.

The harvest will last into October.

Del Bosque recently had this barn built across I-5 at Shields so people can try a wide variety of freshly picked melons. Some you've never heard of before.

"We're also adding a few others that we plant just for that farm stand like some specialty melons like Crenshaws, Canary, Piel del Sapo," he said.

Which translates into the skin of the frog.

"We have a yellow flesh watermelon that's big," he said.

Others include Hami and Mellemon, which is tart like a lemon but very tasty.

The sight of so many varieties was a surprise.

Del Bosque says sometimes new seeds got mixed in during planting and the result was a melon consumers liked.