If it's a "thud," it's over ripe and will be mushy on the inside. I am not sure what went wrong my black diamond watermelon was big heavy the spoon leaf and the tendril were brown but was not ripe I live in Chicago and it is sept. Almost the opposite of what people think they are looking for!
Give it a try! Kim here. First time gardener. I planted from a vine, not seeds. That one little vine grew a fairly decent amount vines, complete with leaves and flowers. There was little bee activity for pollination. Lo and behold back in September, my one and only fruit appeared.
Which means that it is very late in the growing season. I live in S. Jersey, just across the bridge from PA. My fear is that it won't fully ripen before a series frost sets in. Any tips that you can pass on to a newbie would be appreciated. Hi Kim. The only thing I can suggest is to somehow cover the vines when frost is imminent. If you pick the watermelons, they won't ripen any further.
You can also use iWatermelon Deluxe. It's an app to detect a ripe watermelon. You simply place your device on the watermelon and tap it 3 times, then after a short sound analysis, the app tells you if the watermelon is ripe or not. Share 9 Tweet Pin Click here to cancel reply.
Gretchen Monday 21st of September Carol Speake Monday 21st of September RJ Thursday 20th of August Darryle Thursday 3rd of September Blake Thursday 6th of August Kim Blevins Monday 21st of October Hi Carol. Carol Speake Tuesday 22nd of October Amir Dori Sunday 30th of December There is no foolproof way to tell if a watermelon is ripe unless you buy one that has already been cut open. There are a few ways to hedge your bet, though. Look at the bottom of the watermelon. It should be a creamy yellow instead of light green.
The skin should be a little dull rather than glossy, bumpy rather than smooth and difficult or impervious to puncture with your thumbnail. Pick several melons up in your hands, one at a time. A ripe one will feel heavier than you expect. Once you have chosen a likely prospect, step away from the rest of the melons, and sniff it well.
A ripe watermelon, like a good date, should smell sweet. You can also thump the watermelon to see if it sounds ripe, but unless you are very familiar with how a ripe watermelon sounds, this probably won't tell you anything. When in doubt, ask your grocer or farmer's market proprietor to choose a watermelon for you. Our tendrils were brown, but the bottoms were not really yellow, so looks like we need to make sure to follow all 4 steps…..
Great site! Has it been dry, by any chance? That can cause the tendrils to brown up prematurely. I should add that to the post…. Check your days to maturity and planting date, and see if the timing is right, give it a thunk take your best guess.
Just what is average days for watermelons and cantaloupe. Mine look big and ready but no yellow where it laid. Average days to maturity for watermelons is quite different, depending on the variety, ranging from around 80 days for some of the smaller types to over days for the big southern melons. Cantaloupe should slip off the vine easily release when ripe. They will also likely be very fragrant where the vine attaches to the melon.
They are also less prone to be attacked by ground crawling critters and they are much more uniform in shape. Awesome tips. I have never had luck growing watermelons. However, this year a vine sprouted up next to my porch. Best guess is the kids spit seeds over the rail.
We have harvested 6 melons from this impromptu vine and there is currently 5 more on there!! Good article, btw, thanks. You can also tell if a watermelon is ripe by placing a dry straw perpendicular to the melon and watching how fast it will align with the melon.
The more ripe water the faster it will move in alignment with the melon. You can find a straw from the broom section of the store. Just pull a dry straw out of the broom and go to the melon section. Put the melon in your basket or on floor so that it sits still without you touching it.
Place the straw in the middle of the melon perpendicular to the melon it will form a plus sign with the melon. Let go of straw and just watch with amazement!!! You will have everyone in the produce section running to the broom dept wanting to try for themselves!!!
My grandpa used to pick a watermelon from the garden like this when we were kids! I swear it works!!! My husband asked his melon farming uncle how to tell when one is ripe. After getting a long look that said he surely was from another planet, he said to check for the deepest grooves between the green stripes. Ripe Watermelon? All of this suggestions or way to know are: a mistake, ignorance or a lie. Laurie — I stumbled across this conversation while inquiring about watermelon ripeness, etc.
Kudos to you for a polite, albeit necessary, correction. Thank you, Frederick. I mostly agree with the methods mentioned in this article. Thanks for sharing your watermelon picking experience, Jerry. Thank you for such informative tips. I have my first melon, and believed it might be ready to pick. After reading your comments, I can see that there is ample reason to be patient and wait. Hard on the bottom blossom end, green tendril even with degree Texas heat , and yet it seems like it is full and no longer growing.
So I shall keep a watchful eye on it and give it more time. Thanks again for sharing your experience and wisdom. It sounds like it may have reached full size, so now it just needs some time to sweeten up. Almost there! A really good melon for colder parts of the country is Dakota Rose. They are a striped melon and Grow to 30 lbs for me here in upstate NY. Very sweet and a frosty rose color inside.
I do have to say I did not have a single melon this year that was 30 lbs. But it has happened in past years. They are a striped watermelon, I bought them from Fedco seeds. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting. Skip to content. Sharing is caring! Previous Previous. Next Continue. Similar Posts.
Try dusting with diatomaceous earth and neem cake on the soil. What about sprinkling cayenne pepper and cinnamon on your garden?
I may have to try that. I should add that to the post… Glad you like the site. I try to write the type of article that I want to read.
Unfortunately, unlike cantaloupe, watermelons will not ripen further once they are off the vine. What I need now is real audio recording equipment to get the full sound comparison. Sergio — have you ever grown watermelons? I have — for years. You are mistaken. Thank you for the suggestion, Betty. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Home Expand child menu Expand.
Search Search. Toggle Menu Close.
0コメント