My wife gave me melons and cantalopes to put in my garden this year. They have tentacles everywhere. I have fought them to try and get the sun for my cucumbers, The question is how do you tell if they are ripe enough to pick ? Do they just snap off easily when they are ready ? Or do you rap on the sides listening for a hollow sound? The cantalopes are about 9 inches long now.
The end spot turns dark
There are subtle color changes you may be able to recognize after a few tries. Cantaloupe also have a stronger odor when fully ripe. Tendrils by the melon often die by ripe melons. The vibration when you thump the watermelons are the best indicator of a ripe melon. It’s a meaty thud. Have the palm of one hand against the melon when you thump it with the other hand. The underside of a ripe cantaloupe will likely turn a darker yellow.
It should come off the stem cleanly with a slight tug. If part of the stem is left behind you have, as my old foreman at the Hand Melon Farm in Greenwich, NY would say, “raped the melon”. They had to sell them as seconds, and you can imagine how happy that made them. It takes weeks of stoop labor in the hot sun to learn the technique.
Mine are still all one color. The stem has a solid grip. That means what…2 weeks. Or more?
I had the same question myself with my garden this year. I have sugar baby watermelons and cantaloupes. I had been fearful of picking the melons too soon, so I just kept giving them “one more day” for weeks. Finally I could actually start smelling the sweet cantaloupe scent when I was a couple of feel away, so I knew it must be time. In fact, the two cantaloupes I just harvested had already mostly detached from the stem on their own, so that was an obvious sign. I cut them up tonight and they are the sweetest and most delicious cantaloupe I have ever had!
The watermelon are another story, though. I can’t tell as easily. One I picked was perfect, but the other was not ripe enough. They’re sugar baby watermelons, so are small and very dark green. So I guess I will try the “thump” test that Harmonious Discord suggests.