Watermelon ripe?

[Redbaron]

I thought I knew how to tell if a watermelon was ripe. Thump it, check under neath for yellow instead of pale green or white, and check the tendril nearest the stem for it being dried out.

Unfortunately, I am getting something wrong with these "sugar baby" watermelons. Even fully ripe they don't thump like a big melon, the bottoms can be yellow and tendrils dried and yet still not ripe. So how to tell?

[Rachel W]

This is what I have been using to gage the size. But I haven't picked any watermelons yet. Sugar baby is 4th from the bottom on the left side.

http://agsyst.wsu.edu/watermelonphotos.html

[Cole_Robbie]

You could let one go unpicked until it popped, and observe the color changes.

[crmauch]

I'm growing Blacktail Mountain, which according to it's history is likely a Sugar Baby descendent. I'm growing mine in a Florida weave and the watermelon fruit are in slings (so I don't get a yellow resting spot). But early in the season I was adjusting my first set fruit which had swollen to larger than a softball. I was attempting to adjust the fruit in its sling when it slipped out of the sling and broke off. I brought it inside, but I was sure it wouldn't amount to anything. I left is sit around for 3 weeks or so, but cut it last night. Now this fruit had been unevenly pollinated and the side that wasn't pollinated was still white and undeveloped. But the other side had a small amount of pink-ripe flesh and seeds.

Why mention all this? I was wondering how undeveloped your melon was, if it was getting close, maybe by letting it sit (or picking it and sitting it inside if the other signs are right), it will finish developing.

Chris

[ddsack]

I thought I knew how to tell if a watermelon was ripe. Thump it, check under neath for yellow instead of pale green or white, and check the tendril nearest the stem for it being dried out.
Unfortunately, I am getting something wrong with these "sugar baby" watermelons. Even fully ripe they don't thump like a big melon, the bottoms can be yellow and tendrils dried and yet still not ripe. So how to tell?

I have the opposite problem (with Blacktail Mountain) - my thumping sounds quite hollow, has yellow on the bottom, but no tendril has dried up. I picked a large one that I was sure would be ripe, but it had no pink inside. I've never grown these, so not sure how big they will get, they are already bigger than I expected for a small melon. I did cut up the inside of the melon anyway - figured I could use it for smoothies with a little honey and wild blueberries. Guess I'll have to wait a while longer, those tendrils show no sign of drying.

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

I thought I knew how to tell if a watermelon was ripe. Thump it, check under neath for yellow instead of pale green or white, and check the tendril nearest the stem for it being dried out.

Unfortunately, I am getting something wrong with these "sugar baby" watermelons. Even fully ripe they don't thump like a big melon, the bottoms can be yellow and tendrils dried and yet still not ripe. So how to tell?

This is exactly how I pick my melons, but I haven't run into this problem before. Maybe it is the weather. I have the smallest melons I have ever had in my patch. The vines dried up and died due to all the excessive rain and cold weather we have had all summer. My tomatoes are mis-shapen...I call them butt-crack tomatoes....they have a set of "butt cheeks" with a brown rough stripe up the center of the "crack". . I picked a bushel of them this week. I put them all in peck baskets and sold them for $5.00 a basket. I have some that looked like the colon contest winner from last year. I have some that grew "split" with the seeds even showing, some that have holes developed as they set fruit.... It has to be the weather.

[Mark0820]

The end of the tendril on mine is dry, but the part closest to the stem is still green. I am assuming I wait until the entire tendril is dry. Is this correct?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Mark0820

The end of the tendril on mine is dry, but the part closest to the stem is still green. I am assuming I wait until the entire tendril is dry. Is this correct?

That's what it is supposed to be. Unfortunately mine were not quite ready even then.