SAUCE MAGAZINE
Posted On: 08/01/2006
No matter which way you slice your muskmelon, cantaloupe, honeydew or watermelon this summer, one thing is certain: The heady smell of ripe melons just cut is nearly as intoxicating as a first kiss. And when those melons are vine-ripened within a few hours’ drive of the local markets, expect maximum nutrition and vitality.
“When you eat a food right off the plant you are on time with the universe, with the moon, the stars and the sun,” said gardener Ron Jones of On the Wind Farm. “You can almost feel a tingle in your body when you eat good food.” Jones planted a healthy quantity and a staggering variety of melons this summer, but he isn’t sure how many melons he will harvest. “I would lose my crop before I would spray anything, even sprays approved for certified organic farmers,” he said.
Sounds pretty drastic, but then Jones is a neck-or-nothing kind of guy. He left the French Quarter in New Orleans and the world of high-fashion hairstyling to hitchhike the United States, working and learning on organic farms. It was the early ’80s, but still, blow dryer to spading fork is a pretty big leap. Jones saw opportunity in Missouri, on 70 acres tucked away in the Ozarks. He was working at a biodynamic dairy farm adjoining the 70 acres when he decided to buy his farm. Even though he had no cash, Jones called the Philadelphia doctor who owned the land. Because the doc originally bought the land to preserve it, he let Jones work the farm a bit for free, to see if things would work out. Things did go well. Jones bought the acreage.
Twenty-five years later, he crops what grows best in Missouri, including 14 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, blockbuster basil and melons to make mouths water. He’s got the familiar red watermelons, like Crimson Sweet, a 1964 All-American selection, and Picnic. For variety, he’s planted the dark-yellow-fleshed Mountain Sweet Yellow and the sweet Chelsea, named for the Iowa town where it once grew plentifully.
Jones planted D’Algiers, a pre-1800 heirloom and a true French cantaloupe, distinguished by its ribbed shape and smooth, dark-green skin splashed with silver. The rare Boule d’Or, a honeydew type with pale green flesh and a sugary, rich taste, found a place in his fields.
Hopefully, Jones will have a full melon crop this month. Part of his crop may go to the earth, and bugs and wildlife will eat some, but Jones believes when he stays in harmony with nature, he will reap his share, as well.
He coexists. He is a naturalist. When aphids appear to suck the life from his plants, he waits for the lacewings to swoop in like bright green armies to eat them. He plants mulberry trees and puts perches in his fields for birds that eat the bugs eating his crops.
You can find Jones only at Kirkwood Farmers’ Market. Some of his produce is now sold at Whole Foods, too. And even though he leaves the Ozarks at 3 a.m. each Saturday during market season, he thinks he’s a lucky guy. “We have to let nature work, to have patience. I believe there is a natural unfolding, a universal breath. All things ride on that breath. Plus, I have this amazing relationship,” he said. “I feed people.”
