How do I know when my watermelon is ready to be picked?

Question

This is the first time I have planted watermelons and 1 small watermelon is growing. I'm not sure how to tell if it is ready to be picked. When it is picked do I cut back all the vines or will more melons grow this season? Do I keep the vine for next year or do I have to plant a new one next year? Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

thump it , if it sounds hollow.eat it....you have to replant next spring....usuallu more than one mellon on a vine...there is a lot of tricks to the trade...practice makes perfect..keep it up...

Answer 2

When it gets big and green :)

Answer 3

when you ca knock on the watermelon and it sounds like its hollow then u know its ripe...

if its small wait till it gets to about the size of 3-4 footballs together.

Answer 4

i think you can leave the vines and you pick it when it has dark green and light green stripes and is big enough or else i would go to a garden store and ask the workers

Answer 5

its ready.... more will grow this season  

Answer 6

1. Thump it. If the watermelon sounds hollow, it's ripe. This is difficult for less-gifted ears.

2. Look at the color on the top. The watermelon is ripe when there is little contrast between the stripes.

Watermelon 3. Look at the color on the bottom. A green watermelon will have a white bottom; a ripe melon will have a cream- or yellow-colored bottom.

4. Press on it. If the watermelon sounds like it gives a little, it's ripe. (Rhodes doesn't like this method because it can ruin the quality of the fruit.)

5. Check the tendril. If it's half-dead, it could mean that the watermelon is nearly ripe or ripe. If the tendril is fully dead, it could mean that anthracnose or some other fungus killed the melon, or that it's ripe or overripe. If the tendril is green, you should wait to pick the melon.

6. Count the number of days from anthesis (flowering) or the number of days from planting. This works pretty well if you know the variety of watermelon and how many days it's supposed to take for that variety to ripen under normal temperature and fertilizer regimes.

7. Check the size. It's not necessarily true that when a watermelon is big enough, it's ready; but under good conditions, it should be normal size. If it's not, you're probably too anxious.

8. Crack a few. You've got a whole field of watermelons, and you can practice a little, right?

9. Is the vine dead or dying? Well, the watermelon is not going to get any riper, so you might as well pick it.