Sep 17, 2025

JDI’s Racing for melons: From the fields to the finish line

Ross Chastain is known for being a top racer on the NASCAR circuit, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing, among others.

Behind the wheel, he’s got a background that fuels his competitive spirit — growing up working on his family’s watermelon farm, where hard work and perseverance were part of daily life.

Known as “The Watermelon Man” in the stock car world, Chastain smashes a watermelon over his car after each winning race.

While his journey from the fields to the track shows his determination to succeed, that same grit lives in all the Chastains, who have made Punta Gorda, Florida-based JDI Farms one of the most successful watermelon operations in the U.S.

A little history

Ralph Chastain followed in a long line of farming footsteps, growing watermelons from south Georgia to south Florida. Chastain started his own farm in 1991 and now runs the operation with his son Chad.

“The Chastains have been farming watermelons as far back as eight generations, all the way to myself and my brother,” Chad said. “My dad grew up on it, though his grandfather did everything under the sun — a little bit of citrus, cattle here and there, squash and cabbage — but my dad realized that you had to pick one thing and decided to go with watermelons.”

Chad is also a stock car driver but spends more of his time revving up the fields and helping to keep the watermelon business on track for success.

Today, JDI Farms harvests in April and May, growing about 400 net acres of watermelon per year.

“In Florida, for watermelons, we can only grow on a piece of ground once every 10 years, so our acreage depends on what land is available to rent,” Chad said. “Some years, we might only be able to get 350 acres, and we’re ok with that. Other years, we can reach 400 or a little more, which is the limit with our manpower.”

For the most part, Ralph, Chad and a small team handle the day-to-day work themselves.

The company ships to many major chain stores on the East Coast, including Walmart, Costco and Rouses Markets.

An easier approach

Like most growers, JDI Farms has embraced technology to improve operations, but GPS on tractors has made the biggest impact.

“I remember being under the age of 10, and we had shovels with chains on them that we used to mark the fields out,” Chad said. “You would hold a traditional 8-inch PVC pipe as a pole to lay off the field, and the tractor would drive to you and then turn around and go to the other set of guys on the field.

“Just being able to lay out our fields with GPS has taken things from a two-week process with five guys to getting things done in three days with just one man in a tractor.”

Water challenges

One of the biggest challenges in the watermelon game is having enough water — and the 2025 season was drier than usual.

JDI didn’t see measurable rainfall from planting in January planting until early May, marking almost 100 days without rain. This prompted the crew to rung irrigation 24/7, involving drip lines under the plastic directly to the roots, Chad said.

But the challenge swings both ways.By late spring, it rains in Florida nearly every day, so things can go from too dry to too wet very quickly.

Secrets of success

JDI Farms has remained a go-to watermelon growers for many decades. The family believes its success comes from its motto: “Just do it!”

“It doesn’t matter what the job is or what has to be done, you just have to take care of it, even if it means leaving dinner to do so,” Chad said. “For instance, we have drainage ditches set up so we can get rid of the water when you do get one of those floods from 2 inches of rain in an hour, but you have to be willing to go to the field at every time during that crunch time when you have plants on the ground.”

JDI grows four to five different varieties of watermelon each season, often including an early variety. The team also tries to keep up with shifting market demands..

“Certain stores want certain things; they may want 36s, which are our biggest watermelon, or they may want smaller 60-counts,” Chad said. “Some may want a light skin, some want a darker skin. All of that dictates what we grow in a given year.”

Melon 1, run by Rich Chastain, John Lapide and Hamilton Dicks, is the broker operation that sells all of JDI’s watermelons along with fruit from other growers throughout Florida and Georgia. That partnership has played a key role in JDI’s success.

Racing tie-in

Ross’ racing success has brought a lot of attention to the Chastains and JDI Farms.

“He’s been in NASCAR full-time since about 2012, and his popularity has really grown since 2019,” Chad said. “You go to the store and see someone with a Ross Chastain hat or T-shirt on, and they have a watermelon in their grocery cart. It’s helped bring eyes not only to our watermelon but also to agriculture as a whole.”

Ross is not shy about redirecting his interviews toward the positives of agriculture and the pros of watermelon farming.

“We all see the value in this and want to promote watermelons as a whole,” Chad said. “If Ross goes on to do bigger things, that’s even better, but we all see what having the presence of watermelons in NASCAR on a national market means.”

Creating a legacy

Ralph always hoped his sons would follow him into the family business

“To me, this is a business where you work hard and you can see the results,” Ralph said. “This is one you can be proud to be in. We’ve made it work and constantly improve it, and it’s become a big business.”

It was Ralph who got both his sons into racing as well.

“It was really a hobby of mine; I was always a fan of NASCAR and did some hobby racing myself as time permitted,” he said. “We did it all as a family, and he (Ross) kept doing it, and now here we are.”

Chad, who is expecting his first child in November, sees promise in JDI’s future and agriculture as a whole.

“There’s a lot of young blood that want to be involved and have really good ideas,” he said. “Knowing that the current leadership with my dad and my uncle is still going to be involved to let myself as a farmer continue to grow and learn, I’m really excited. I’m hoping JDI Farms can grow more acres going forward.”

— A graduate of the University of Miami, Keith Loria is an award-winning journalist who has been writing for almost 20 years. View his recent writing at keithloria.contently.com.