Scott County farmer delivers watermelons straight to store for sale

BLODGETT, Mo. -- Blake Wade of Wade Farms is in his third year of growing watermelons, which are picked by hand and delivered straight to the store for sale to the public.

"We provide about 2,000 melons per week to Food Giant stores in Missouri and Tennessee," Wade said. "The watermelons go from the field to the store."

Food Giant has a store in Cape Girardeau.

A few years ago, Wade planted five acres of watermelon on his soybean and corn farm near Blodgett. Though watermelons remain a small part of his acreage, they are labor-intensive and require a large part of his time.

Wade buys watermelon seeds from one company that sends the seeds to another company in Valdosta, Georgia, where the plants begin growing.

The watermelons are started in plastic trays, with 98 plants per tray. The trays are shipped by truck in the spring to Wade Farms and planted as soon as the weather permits.

Spring rains delayed planting this year, but Wade said he is pleased with this year's production.

Planting requires two workers who ride on the planting machine and place the young plants in rows by hand.

At harvest time in the summer, Wade employs eight to 10 extra workers to get the melons out of the field and into the store.

Wade hopes to deliver about 30,000 pounds of watermelons per acre in a good year, but that kind of yield requires some assistance from honeybees.

"We have one bee hive for every acre of watermelon grown," Wade said. "The bees pollinate the plants and have a tremendous effect on yield."

Wade rents the beehives from a company in Jackson, which also services the hives each week during the season.

In his third year of growing watermelons, Wade has 20 acres of watermelons.

"We have seeded and seedless melons. The seeded melons weigh about 30 pounds, and the seedless melons weigh about 12 pounds," Wade said. "For every three acres of seeded melons, we have one acre of seedless melons."

Wade Farms is a family operation with Wade's parents, Tim and Becky Wade, and his wife, Madalyn, lending a hand. Madalyn Wade also teaches elementary students in the Kelly School District.

"We are going to add five more acres of watermelon next year," Wade said.