MOUNT VERNON, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension offers an evening workshop on growing and marketing watermelon July 15 at the MU Southwest Research, Extension and Education Center in Mount Vernon.

The free event includes an hour of classroom time followed by a tour of the center’s watermelon demonstration site and an early variety taste test, says MU Extension horticulturist Matthew Huchteman.

Appropriately, the class will be held during July, National Watermelon Month.

This vitamin-rich thirst-quencher is part of the gourd family, notes MU Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. Aptly named, watermelon is 92% water. Mark Twain wrote that one who has tasted watermelon “knows what the angels eat,” Trinklein says.

Participants will learn about current markets, variety selection, best management practices, integrated pest management and ways to extend the watermelon growing season in southwestern Missouri.

The session is 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, at MU Southwest Center, 14548 Highway H, Mount Vernon.

Register at muext.us/WatermelonWorkshop. For more information, contact Huchteman at 417-358-2158 or huchtemanm@missouri.edu.