WHAT WE GROW

WATERMELoN

Fresh, sweet and juicy. Nothing tastes like summer more than a refreshing slice of watermelon. Not only do they taste good, but they’re also a healthy antioxidant, packed full of vitamin A.

At LeaderBrand we grow three types: the large, striped jubilee variety, the smaller, sweeter micro-seeded variety and the mini melon.

LEADERBRAND WATERMELON GISBORNE landscape with tractor
LOCATION

WHERE DO THEY GROW?

Watermelon love the sun, so we grow ours at our Gisborne farm. The hot temperatures and long hours of sunshine provide the best growing conditions.

Make the most of watermelon while it’s in season, which is usually from mid-January until March

OUR FARMS
OUR PROCESS

HOW DO WE GROW IT?

To make sure our watermelons are fresh and delicious, we follow a few important steps:

  1. Depending on the variety, we’ll either grow seedlings in our nursery for 4 to 6 weeks and then transplant them when they’re ready, or sow seeds directly into the ground.
  2. Our watermelons tend to grow for around three months until they are ready for harvesting. While they’re growing, we use an environmentally friendly trickle irrigation system to give them a steady stream of water and nutrients .
  3. We hand harvest our watermelons when they’re ready, looking out for visual clues like even striping and colour to see how ripe they are.
  4. To make sure every watermelon is top-quality, we constantly cut them open to check for colour and taste. The perfect watermelon should be a nice shade of pink or red and taste a little sweet.
  5. As soon as our watermelons are harvested, we wash them, grade, size and pack them into large bins ready for transport directly to your local supermarket.
LEADERBRAND WATERMELON GISBORNE
LEADERBRAND WATERMELON GISBORNE

DID YOU KNOW?

Watermelon is best eaten fresh, but if yours has to go in the fridge, store it in an air-tight container to keep it juicy for longer.

Love a juicy watermelon? Watermelons are around 90% water, so picking the heaviest one you can find should mean it’s nice and juicy too.

Another great tip for choosing watermelons is to tap it before popping it in your shopping trolley. If it sounds like a drum, it’s ripe and ready to go!

LEADERBRAND WATERMELON GISBORNE
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OUR PRODUCTS

LEADERBRAND WATERMELON

WATERMELON

Juicy, colourful and delicious, there’s no summertime fruit quite like watermelon.

  • grass Gisborne
  • Jan – Mar
  • check Source of Potassium
  • check Source of Vitamin C

 

Serving Size: 150 g Quantity per serving Quantity per 100g
Energy  232.0 kJ 154.7 kJ
Protein 1.3 g 0.9 g
Fat, total 0.3 g 0.2 g
– saturated 0.0 g 0.0 g
Carbohydrate 11.4 g 7.6 g
– sugars 11.4 g 7.6 g
Dietary Fibre 0.8 g 0.5 g
Sodium 0.0 mg 0.0 mg
Potassium 226 mg 151 mg
Vitamin C 7.5 mg (19% RDI*) 5 mg

Source: The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 14th Edition 2021

Quantities stated above are averages only

*Recommended Daily Intake (NZ Adult)

ENJOY AT YOUR PLACE

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

OUR watermelon RECIPES