Square Watermelons: Perfect for Summer Fashion BBQ?

Yeah, you read that right, a square watermelon. It seems incredible, and odd to say the least, maybe this is even one of those rare but real sounding internet hoaxes, but sad to say it's true and a sign of the times!

In Japan, an ambitious (not to mention ingenious and undoubtedly now wealthy) farmer located in Japan's south-western island of Shikoku, remade the watermelon into something more fashionable and seemingly even more desirable. He may have even solved some of those pesky little problems associated with the more traditional round (or oval whatever) watermelon.

If you think about it, the 'boring' traditional watermelon is bulky, hard for stores to stack on their shelves (grab the wrong one and they all come tumbling after, not fun). It's even harder to fit the great big fruit into tiny little square crispers barely big enough for your apples, and of course, they can be akward to cut, especially since the fruit tends to roll around during cutting.

So how did he manage to grow a square watermelon? Did he manipulate the seed or something exciting and weird like that? Nope, the answer is pretty simple really, he grew the plants in a sturdy square box (which, if you think about it, also reduces problems of bugs, smart!), which, when the watermelons would grow, would naturally take on the shape of the box.

If you think about it, you have probably seen a tree that has grown oddly. Maybe around a fence post, or around an old tree house etc. The trunk of the tree 'consumes' what it's growing around and forces it's self into a new shape. Same basic idea, not to complicated when you get down to it.

Still, you probably haven't any in stores near you, and it's no wonder when you hear what some of these watermelons sell for. In Japan, these wonder melons sell for about 10,000 yen, which equals out to just a little over eighty dollars (uh, yeah, 80 dollars).

You may think that, still, someone somewhere locally would want to capitalize on this new amazing market, I mean, that's quite a profit margin for the farmer's market, but the cases that these fruit grow in have to be strong to stand the pressure of square watermelon, and sell for around $60 a pop. You'd have to have a small fortune on hand just to start your new garden, and then of course, would anyone in your area even want to buy them at a price where you could actually make money?

Cute, fashionable, and I am sure just as tasty, but still that's like eight times or more what I pay for a watermelon! So while it may be cute, it's a little pricy for a summer barbeque or a picnic with the family.

It makes me wonder though, all this money, all this trouble, but does it still have those pesky seeds?

Sources

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1390088.stm

http://square-watermelons.com/