RUTHSBURG, Md. -- Mechelle Suitt said she knew right from the start there was something unusual about the watermelon plant she bought in May.
The cashier told the Ruthsburg resident it was a Carolina Cross, a variety known for producing large fruit, and the plant didn't disappoint her. She trimmed smaller watermelons from the plant during the summer to help the largest grow, and by the time she picked it last month it weighed 138 pounds.
The giant melon was displayed for a while at Mason's produce stand near her home, where it was carved on Sunday. Suitt says she received a number of requests for the melon's seeds from growers, so she saved them and gave some of the melon to neighbors, family and her church pastor.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
