Watermelons ready for July 4 celebrations

CORDELE - Geneva Jones sometimes imagines what it would be like to stick identification labels on the thousands of watermelons her family grows in the sandy south Georgia soil. <br> <br> It would be impossible, of course, in the haste to harvest their 17 acres, but she yearns for feedback, especially from people who eat them at Fourth of July picnics. <br> <br> She says she wishes she could put stickers on them and we could find out where they went because they have buyers from everywhere. <br> <br> Watermelons are as elemental as the flag, fireworks and John Philip Sousa marches at July 4 gatherings around the country. And, thanks to Georgia&#39;s climate and growing conditions, watermelons here ripen so they are sweetest just as the holiday hits. <br> <br> Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin, who rides a watermelon float in three July parades, says the fruit has become a symbol of patriotism. <br> <br> Farmers expect record consumption this year, thanks in part to the nation&#39;s patriotic mood. The Cordele State Farmers Market market has been juiced up with activity and optimism for weeks. South Georgia should produce about $25 million worth of watermelons this year. The market, which ships about 170 million pounds of the fruit, mostly in June and July, is a major East Coast supplier for holiday picnics. <br> <br> The Crisp County town of Cordele, which bills itself as the ``Watermelon Capital of the World,&#39;&#39; has honored the fruit with an annual festival for 53 years. The theme of this year&#39;s festival, which runs from June 22 to July 13, is ``A Crisp slice of America, a tribute to all veterans.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The town of eleven thousand, located about 150 miles south of Atlanta, has become a mecca for growers throughout south Georgia and northern Florida. Roads leading to the market are littered with the carcasses of melons that bounce out of overloaded trucks and trailers.

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