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Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

We are watching 8 Crimson Sweet in my daughters watermelon patch. Finally the tendril closest to one of the melons turned brown and died so we picked the melon put it on ice for 2 days, cut it open. and I had a broken hearted 8 year old. it was barely pink. So now Im gun shy, I don't want to hear "Daddy we wasted that watermelon" LOL How do I know when the next one is ready???????

While Im asking question, Are the any little tricks to help the sweetness of watermelons?

8/9/2014 4:14:57 PM

Williamsburg,KY

I pick when the tendril is dried for a few days and the bottom is yellowish.

8/9/2014 6:23:22 PM

Bethlehem CT

I usually wait for a bit after the tendrils turn. The only way I can get a handle on it, is to do what you did. I have to cut one open and see where we are. Once I have done that I can gauge how long before I start picking. So the most mature one was barely pink. Give them another week or two.
As far as sweetness, that depends a lot on the weather. The sweetest melons will come in a dry sunny year. If it has been wet and cloudy, they might not be quite as good. Also plants that die off early because of disease will not have melons that are as sweet as those from healthy plants.

8/9/2014 11:39:39 PM

formerly RGG

Sometimes a grower can press down a little hard on the top of a ripe melon and you can here it pop inside. I have never popped one that wasn't fully ripe.

8/10/2014 8:55:44 PM

Muddy Waters

The Secret to finding a ripe melon is by looking at the bottom.I discovered this myself growing the sugar babys.First of all mark your calender when you start them.The package will say how many days to harvest.This will pit you in a 2 week range of when its time.Then a week before the targeted date start looking at there bottoms.When there ripe there color will change.Mine went from white to a yellow look.You can do this in the store also.The commercial melons are picked early for shipping purposes.look for the melon with the oldest looking bottom.This has worked well for me.Have Fun handling your melons.I always do.

8/11/2014 6:26:54 AM

Muddy Waters

You can learn a lot from looking at someones bottom.Where they been. where they sat.Where there going.I learned this from Forest.lol

8/11/2014 6:47:58 AM

Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

guys thanks for all the help, im trying to not disappoint my daughter when we cut the next one open.

there's a lot to be learned from Forest :)

8/11/2014 11:44:34 PM