Watermelon ripeness

Factual Questions
1

How do you know when to pick a watermelon off the vine?

(Yes, this is one of those questions that nobody thinks to ask before there’s a 5 lb, tasty looking spheroid sitting in their garden.)

-lv

2

You thump it.

Actually, you thump a bunch of them and pick the one that sounds best.

You’ve got to thump a bunch of them for the comparison. Some sound hard, and some sound soft. You want one that is sort of in between. Not too hard because a hard melon isn’t ripe yet. Not too soft, because a soft melon is over ripe. It’s just one of those things you’ve got to practice.

You might want to do some practice thumping at the grocery store. Thump a bunch of melons, and try to remember what the extremes sound like - the most squishy sounding and the most solid sounding.

3

It takes practice to pick a good melon every time!

4

The stem is easily separated from the melon with only a gentle tug.

The light-colored patch on the part of the melon that was on the ground becomes yellower as the melon ripens.

If you do thump the melon, a dull, dead sound indicates a ripe melon. Sound doesn’t travel as well through the melon’s flesh as it softens. Thump several so the different sounds register, and you can remember the tones on your next thumping excursion.

Do you remember the date you set out the plants in your garden? The seed packet will give you a bit of guidance, as the days to maturity number starts when the plants are set out, but not if you direct seeded.

Lots of luck, and when in doubt, leave it a bit longer.

5

This is probably the clincher. I knew that cantalopes were like this, but didn’t realize that it applied to watermelons.

The problem with the “thumping” method is that I have a grand total of two or three growing right now, not a lot to compare with. And they started growing at different times, so I don’t see how the seed package would know which one started when.

Thanks.

6

I’ve had good results with waiting until the tendrils on the stem just above the melon attachment turn brown. It is just one more indication, along with the yellow patch and thumping.