Emīls Nils Gaišprātis grows his own watermelons. "This is the Odisejs variety. It's very heavy, about 15 kilograms. Next to me are the yellow watermelons of 'Zloto Wolicy'. They grow up to three kilograms."
15-year-old Emīls grows watermelons on one hectare in Vilce. He says that this year's harvest has been good: "The watermelon harvest this year is really very nice, very big, very abundant. The weather has been warm. We were lucky to have a very warm spring."
Emil grew his first watermelon when he was ten years old and now has three thousand plants in the field.
"I knew I wanted to grow something, but I didn't know what. I was standing at the shelf looking at the packets of seeds. I saw a packet of watermelon seeds. I bought some, and planted them on the windowsill in my room. Then I planted them in the greenhouse. I was surprised that you could grow watermelon in Latvia, it was 9 kilograms at the time," says Emīls.
Andrejs Kondratjuks, who has been growing watermelons and melons for ten years, is not complaining about this year's harvest either.
Growers stress that Latvia can produce a good crop of watermelons and melons. "I think hybrid varieties grow very well in Latvia. I think they are much sweeter and tastier than in southern countries because of our climatic conditions," says Andrejs Kondratjuks.
"You can grow watermelons in Latvia, and they are even tastier than abroad because we have very favorable weather conditions when it is warmer and cooler. Watermelons get a contrast and sweetness develops," explains Emils Nils Gaišprātis.
Kondratjuks said that there are already many watermelons and melons grown in Latvia, but not enough: "We need to scale up so that there are more watermelons and melons on the Latvian market. There is no problem to sell. We have a base that takes any quantity. I can't grow as much as they would be willing to sell."
Although not everyone is good at growing watermelons and melons, those who have free land are encouraged to give it a try. "Because watermelons are very finicky, you have to do a bit of research or just try planting for the first year and see what a person's "green thumb" is like. He will know whether he will succeed or fail," adds the young grower.
