For 60 years, we’ve been selling King O’ The West melons fresh and ready to eat all the way from California. Year after year, customers look forward to the return of their favorite summer treat — always picked at the peak of perfection, of course. After all, Turlock Fruit Company has been planting, harvesting and packing their King O’ The West honeydews since 1918.

This time of year, Turlock grows its King O’ The West melons in central California’s San Joaquin Valley. The cooler temperatures there make for perfect growing conditions. Left to take their sweet time on the vine, these melons are ripe and ready for you to enjoy in August, their peak season for flavor and sweetness.

“We leave them on the vine longer than other farms,” explains Steve Smith, third-generation owner of Turlock. “It gives them more time to ripen and makes them sweeter.”

If you want to enjoy these extra-sweet produce treats, you better do so quickly. Once picked, they’re quickly shipped to our produce distribution centers. By the time they arrive in stores, they are at their peak flavor!

With such high maturity, picking the perfect melon can seem daunting. Follow these tips for choosing — and enjoying — the best melon.

• Pick a melon that has a creamy yellow color and skin that’s slightly waxy — that signals the sugar content is just right.
• These melons are vine-ripened, so enjoy right away, or refrigerate as soon as you get home.
• Wrap cut melons with plastic and store for up to three days in the refrigerator.
• Melons are grown on the ground; before cutting into your melon, rinse with cool water to remove any surface dirt.

Want to mix up your picnic game? Check out these mouth-watering melon recipes perfect for summer!