by Joe Zemba, La Junta Tribune-Democrat
The family farmers of the Rocky Ford Growers Association (RFGA) started planting cantaloupe seeds only recently. Those amazingly sweet and juicy Rocky Ford Cantaloupes will start rolling into grocery stores across Colorado and surrounding states in mid-July.
The family farmers of the Rocky Ford Growers Association (RFGA) started planting cantaloupe seeds the week of April 17th. Those amazingly sweet and juicy Rocky Ford Cantaloupes will start rolling into grocery stores across Colorado and surrounding states in mid-July. The ripest cantaloupes are picked daily through the growing season and will go from field to grocery store in about 12 hours.
RFGA members Knapp Farms and Proctor Produce kicked off the planting season during what will be a very busy couple of weeks in Rocky Ford as all eight member farms plant their cantaloupe fields. The farm fields have been prepped with a plastic mulch to reduce evaporation, and to provide a barrier between the moist ground and the cantaloupe to keep them from getting wet and rotting. A planter pokes in cantaloupe seeds about every foot, where they’ll grow into sprawling green vine-like plants that produce those world-famous Rocky Ford melons by late July.
“These amazingly sweet, juicy melons are available for only a couple of months a year. For generations, people have waited each July for the harvest to hit the stores and the farmers markets. It’s great to get started on the 2017 season,” said Rocky Ford Growers Association president Michael Hirakata.
The Rocky Ford region grows the sweetest cantaloupe thanks to a perfect combination of blazing hot days and cool nights, along with the fresh, clear Arkansas River water that irrigates the valley. The Rocky Ford Growers Association members are family-owned farms, several of which are being operated by the 5th and 6th generations.