Heirloom Watermelons 🍉
Find out who’s growing rare Bradford watermelons
Photos story by Tom Poland
Metal detectives seek old coins and treasure, and many folks look for arrowheads. A rare breed seeks long-lost seeds. Old coins and arrowheads won’t make you healthy but heirloom produce can.
I spent the better part of an August day with a TV crew that included Chip Carter, a producer for “Where The Food Comes From,” and a remarkable young man farming land much as his family did 190 years ago.
Nat Bradford is as much scientist as farmer, because the truth is, farming is a science. Nat can tell you the Latin names and family of his heirloom produce, and for me, his farm brought back memories. My Granddad Poland owned a large farm where he raised white-faced cattle and grew light green watermelons run over with dark green, zigzagged stripes.
Watermelons?
I love them and I suspect you do. Nat has a rich family history as watermelons go. An old newspaper comment by one W.C. Hampton described a delicious summer treat of his day, the Bradford Watermelon,…