Melon Patch Farmer’s Market assistant Jacob Deck, left, and his father, market owner Trey Deck, display cantaloupes a sugar baby watermelon for sale at the Chickamauga market.If you go
Located in front of The Melon Patch restaurant, located at 2697 Johnson Rd # 1 in Chickamauga, the market is open Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
It was a road trip with a friend at age 17 that planted the seed for a Chickamauga venture still going strong after 16 years.
Melon Patch Farmer’s Market is celebrating its 17th year as a certified roadside market. However, market owner Trey Deck began selling watermelons and cantaloupes 32 years ago.
“We built our business on watermelons,” he said. “We are best known for it. We sell watermelons May through Labor Day. We stick with three farmers for watermelons. That gives us consistency.”
Deck remembers hopping in a friend’s truck at age 17 and heading to South Georgia to bring back a truckload of cantaloupes to sell in Chickamauga. It was a hit, so Deck decided to branch out and sell various melons.