When to pick watermelons

[dave and lynda wray]

How can I tell when to pick watermelons from my garden? Are they supposed to sound hollow or is there another sign to look for?

Thanks Dave

[dkra]

Several tests are:

1. Early in the morning, give the melon a thump with your knuckles. A ripe melon will give a dull "pong" sound (a green one will give a "ping" sound).
2. Look for the tendril next to the melon stem. If it has turned dry and brown, the melon is ripe.
3. Turn the melon over and look at the spot where it has rested on the ground. A yellow (not white) spot indicates a riper melon.

-- dkra

[Dwayne]

dkra got most of them, but there are some variables that you have to consider.

An over ripe one will give a "pong" also. Pick the melon up in one hand and slap it with the other. If you can feel the vibration in the hand you are holding it with, that is a good sign.

The dry and brown tendril is a good sign. Wait until the leaf next to the tendril is also dead and dry. Problem is that on a very dry and hot year, they sometimes get dry and brown and the melon is still not ripe.

Some melons are ripe with a white spot on the bottom. Dixie King a light green colored melon with yellow flesh is one of them. Dark green Sugar Babies and Black Diamond are ripe when they turn yellow.

Then, after checking my melons and they pass all of these tests, about 1/3 of them still turn out to be a little green.

Good luck. Dwayne