How do I know when the watermelon is ready?

[catjac1975]

Who is that obnoxious woman in the video?

 

[ninnymary]

Carol, I hope they taste great. Vfem got those seeds from me. It was a free packet that I got from Baker Creek. I noticed she was selling the seeds on etsy last year.

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

Carol, I hope they taste great. Vfem got those seeds from me. It was a free packet that I got from Baker Creek. I noticed she was selling the seeds on etsy last year.

Mary

oops, No she just sent me a few seeds when I admired her Big Orange melon. So.... Thank You, too.

 

[catjac1975]

oops, No she just sent me a few seeds when I admired her Big Orange melon. So.... Thank You, too.

Is the big orange melon a watermelon or cantaloup. Is that it's name. Any photos?

 

[ninnymary]

Cat, it's a watermelon but I can't remember the name. It grows hugh and Vfem said it was the sweetest!

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

Sadly our will not be huge. It is only about 12-15inches long right now , but huge compared to the golf ball sized sugar baby we grew one year.

 

[catjac1975]

I probably cannot grow huge ones here. I grow the sugar baby size.

 

[seedcorn]

I grow baby doll only because we can't get large one down

 

[Smart Red]

I think this one is ripe.

View attachment 3984

I suspect smelling would work for that one.

It is cute, but I wouldn't do that to anyone I loved. Seems a bit abusive to me, certainly unnecessarily uncomfortable for the little one.

 

[Smart Red]

I have never been overly successful with the approved "thumping" method. For that you really need a few melons for comparison. Even at the store, it isn't 100% effective.

The ripeness test that I've read about and never found useful is that the melon is ripe when the tendril at the end of the stem turns brown.

The best way would be to plug it. Take a section out with an apple corer or knife and check for yourself. If it is not ready, put the plug back in and cover the edges with paraffin wax to protect it.