How to tell if your watermelon is ripe in 5 seconds! Knowing what to look for when picking a watermelon is crucial if you want a sweet, juicy fruit that's bursting with flavor! There are quite a few tips out there. But my number one, most important gauge for ripeness is demonstrated in this video. When you buy watermelons from the store or farmer's market you are relying on others to decide when a watermelon should be picked. And too many times... that results in a bland tasteless fruit. 🤢 Yuk!

That's why growing your own watermelons in the garden is so much better! You have complete control over when your fruits are harvested, allowing them to be properly ripened on the vine. And when the watermelon is still connected to the plant, you can check out the most crucial factor that takes all of the guesswork out of the process.

🍉 STORE BOUGHT WATERMELONS:

When buying watermelons from a vendor, you're stuck using some rather subjective methods for determining ripeness. Here are a few common tips for how to pick a ripe watermelon:

1) THUMP - People love to tap and thump watermelons, listening for a hollow thump. But this tip is highly subjective and not very reliable as not all varieties make a soft "hollow" sound when knocked.

2) HEFT - If you have a stack of similarly sized watermelons, you can lift each and try to look for ones that feel heavier for their size. Having a scale would be a much more objective way to pick watermelons that are denser and full of juicy goodness.

3) WATERMELON COLOR - The darkness or brightness of a fruit does not help much with determining ripeness. Different varieties will have different colors. And foliage cover can cause a fruit to be lighter in color. Watermelons with full sun exposure may be more tanned, but that doesn't mean they are more or less ripe. Some people look at the sheen of the skin. If it looks less shiny and more dull, then this might be a sign of ripeness.

4) FIELD SPOT - Watermelons grown in the field will have a pale spot on the underside. This area was shaded from sunlight and never produced pigment in response. On a young, immature watermelon, that field spot will be bright white. But as the fruit ripens, the spot darkens a little into a creamy yellow color. So look for darker spots to find riper, sweeter watermelons. But what if there is no field spot??? That doesn't mean the watermelon isn't ripe. Rather, that indicates that the fruit received sunlight from all angles. The watermelon in my video is a perfect example of that! See if you can figure out why...

🍉 HOME GROWN WATERMELONS:

Common questions folks have when growing watermelon is "When do I harvest my watermelon?" It's all about the tendril baby! A quick reliable way to tell if your watermelon is ripe. When you grow your own fruits and veggies you can determine exactly when to harvest. And with watermelons, that means you have direct access to the best determinant of ripeness: The curly tendril or pigtail opposite of where the fruit is attached to the vine will let you know.

If it's green, leave it be. When the fruit is still developing and ripening, the tendril will be bright green, matching the color of the rest of the vine. But once the fruit has matured, that tendril starts to turn brown and dry out. I always wait until the tendril is completely brown and dry. Then it's good to go! 😍 I might even wait a few additional days just to be sure.

NOTE: Some sources say "Sugar Baby" requires an extra 10 days from the point that the tendril turns brown. So if you have that type, be sure to give it the extra time before picking.


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