A Watermelon Question for Gardeners?

Question

I share a huge garden with my neighbor and had a watermelon vine crop up from scattered seeds from last year. It is about 15-20 feet long and currently has 3 melons on it. The vine is starting to dry up. The melons are about 18" long and very round. There was a 4th melon of similar size that I took, only to find out upon cutting it open that it was still yellow inside. The flesh was bitter-tasting so I know this is not a yellow melon. Question: How do I know when the others are ripe? I don't want to waste another melon. I would ask my neighbor but he is on extended vacation and the guy watering his plants doesn't know much.

I am in Northern NJ if this affects when melons ripen.

Thanks!

Answer 1

If the seeds were from a hybrid melon, you may not get the same offspring as the parent.  Your melons may be reverting to one of the parents genes.  Just a thought.

Bug Doc

Answer 2

My step dad is a farmer and told me some time ago that melons aren't ripe clear until the end of the season. I wouldn't pick them until it gets too cold for them to grow.  

Answer 3

Leave them till the vines are nearly dead. Watermelons need a large amount of water - especially at the ripening stage, and your area has been very dry the past few weeks. When you tap on them they should make a kind of hollow sound when they are ready. Also, they will part easily from the stem.  

Answer 4

Look at the stem where it attaches to the melon.  Follow the stem away from the melon a few inches and you should see a long, thin curly vine about the diameter of a toothpick.  It looks curly cue or pig tail shaped.  When that becomes dry, your melon is ready to pick.  It doesn't have to be completely dry, but it should be more dry than fresh looking.  You can also judge by the hollow sound it makes when you thump it, but it's sort of a hit and miss way to tell unless you've done it a lot.  Use both methods to ensure picking the watermelons when they are at their prime.

Answer 5

There are four good indicators to look for:

1.) Thump the fruit. An unripe melon has a more solid and ringing sound. A ripe one has a hollow, dull or muffled sound.

2.) Look at the color of the fruit underneath. An unripe melon has a green or greenish white underside. A ripe one turns creamy or pale yellow.

3.) Look at the tendrils (the little curly projections where the stem attaches to the fruit). On unripe fruits, the tendrils will be green. On ripe fruits, the tendrils turn dry and brown.

4.) Check the rind. As a fruit ripens, it will become waxier.