
ROCKY FORD CANTALOUPE SEED ——— 
ENOUGH FOR OUR CUSTOMERS 
Keep in mind that we work upon the fundamental idea that “just any seed is not 
good enough for our customers”. Hence it follows that just any methods of growing 
and harvesting is not good enough to produce that seed. 
In late August when the harvest begins, the work is divided among several mem- 
bers of the firm so that every phase will receive close and careful personal attention 
from one who is actively interested in our success. One member is in charge of the 
picking, selecting and cutting of the seed, another is in charge of the washing and dry- 
ing, and another in charge of the milling of the seed and the filling of orders. 
At harvest time the cutting crew, under the supervision of one member of the 
firm, first enters the field and picks the ripe melons. These are piled in several piles 
throughout the field and trained men then carefully select the melons in each pile, dis- 
carding all melons that may be off-type, off-shape, improperly netted, or showing any 
other undesirable features. The cutting crew then cuts the selected melons, cutting 
each individual melon in half. After it is cut each melon is again selected a second 
time for thickness and color of flesh, texture and quality. This double selection elim- 
inates all melons that would not reproduce properly, and saves for seed only those 
melons that present the finest qualities that you want in your crop. 
After the seed is saved it is put in barrels and immediately trucked to a central 
warehouse, where it is poured into large vats for souring. Separate vats are held for 
each variety to prevent any mixture. The seed is allowed to sour for 24 to 36 hours in 
these vats so that the seed will separate readily from any flesh that may be present 
with the seed. In washing the seed is carried to the wash tanks in carts as shown in the 
center illustraion below. When the seed has been placed in the tanks clear water is run 
in and the seed stirred until, by continual use of running water, all the juice, pulp, 
and light, immature seed is washed away, leaving the good seed settled on the bottom 
of the tank. All water is then drained away and the seed presents the appearance 
shown in the photograph on the right below. This seed is then placed on screen trays 
and allowed to dry in the sun. After being sun-dried the seed is stored, still in the 
trays, for a curing process. When thoroughly dried and cured the seed is sacked and 
transferred to the warehouse where it is milled. The milling process removes any small 
pieces of stems or pulp that may remain after washing and also removes all light ker- 
neled seed that might not germinate. The seed is then ready for our customers. 
Throughout all this harvest the work is actually supervised or performed by a 
member of our firm. This personal supervision enables us to assure you that any seed 
bought from us will be pure and of the highest possible quality. 
The care we take of our seed crops, the methods we use, and our personal super- 
vision are proof that “just any seed is not good enough for our customers”. 

