A photo of a square watermelon for sale at Calgary's Crossroads Market for a whopping $250 has touched off a juicy debate over the price of the fruit.

The controversial summer delight has been making the rounds on social media over the past several weeks, with retailers around the world bringing the produce into stock for the summer. However, those looking for an easier way to enjoy one of summer's tastiest fruits might be in for a surprise.

Are farmers' markets a rip-off? Tune in to the Calgary Eyeopener at 7:40 on 1010 AM or 99.1 FM to hear the Unconventional Panel debate the merits of farmers markets.

"They pick these watermelon immature, so the inside is a white colour and is not tasty at all," said Jason Wiebe, owner of Chongo's Produce Market, which sells fruit at the Crossroads Market. "It's not something for your produce pleasure, not at all."

Wiebe says he was approached by a Japanese producer of the fruit and agreed to bring four into his market to get people talking.

He says there are only about 300 square watermelon around the world right now and in general, they are meant more as a novelty item than as something to be consumed.

Still, the discrepancy in price between the watermelons did help perk up sales over the weekend.

"It's caught people's eye, which I really liked, and it creates a really good separation when we're selling the watermelons for $250 that are square and then the regular watermelons seem like a bargain at $7.99," said Wiebe.

"People started thinking about watermelon. It's a nice day, nice weekend, so watermelon sales were brisk."