A seed company sent me a free pack of Tendersweet watermelon seed this spring, and I planted them on May 13. Tendersweet is a large orange-meat watermelon.
I have 5 big melons in the garden. They sound VERY hollow when thumped, and the skin scratches off fairly easily, so we picked one a few days ago and tried it. The flavor was very good, but not very sweet.
I was going to try another one today, but didn't. The vine is still green and vigorous, and it didn't want to break off the melon easily - so I left it. Should I wait until the vine dies down or slips off easily before harvesting? I want these to be good and sweet, but I don't want to lose them by waiting too long. Thanks.
How to tell when Watermelons are ready?
Yes, it's frustrating sometimes.
After [a ] melon stop growing for a few days, the tendril next to the fruit will be drying up....well 98% of the time! After a few more days, the melon will be ripe...according to some people. Check the bottom where it lays on the ground. Most melons will turn creamy when ripe. The outer skin dulls some too. The thumps are more hollow...on large melons. This is not fool proof as a melon with some hollow heart [even a little bit] will sound hollow before it is ripe. The one time I raised Tendersweet, it was fairly good but some disappoiting with some hollow heart.
I prefer to err on the riper side myself. I like them sweet....each to his own there....kind of like sweet corn . Some like it small. Some like it medium [me]. And some like it tuff.
Ozark, are you growing the orange fleshed one or the yellow?
Am just curious as to what size they are now and wondering how "too early" you are picking them. If your vines are still nice and green and growing well you may want to let the melons get to their proper size. The orange one can get pretty big (maybe 30 pounds!) but the yellow is a bit smaller.
I tend to do as Indy said above, watch the tendril and let it get good and dry as well as check the color of the bottom of the melon.
" Check the bottom where it lays on the ground. Most melons will turn creamy when ripe."
I may be trying to harvest them 'way too early. It's the orange variety, and the seed pack says they are 30 lb. melons. Mine are no bigger than maybe 15 lbs., but it's been about 115 days since planting.
What may have thrown them off is that I planted that row of melons in the middle of a bunch of rows of 8' sweet corn. They got light-starved as the corn grew, and they just set on a few tiny melons. I harvested the corn about a month ago and pulled the cornstalks out - and the melon vines went to town. The melons that had already set on grew to about 15 lbs., the vines covered the entire former corn patch, about 20' x 20', and right now they're green, still growing, blooming, and even setting on new melons.
The tendrils to the melons are green and vigorous, and they're hanging on tight. I think maybe I need to wait quite a while longer.
I have my first melons this year. I used the advice from Shoe and the melons were wonderful. Every customer who bought one or part of one, comes back every week to see if I have more! I'm gonna be asking Shoe for advice on melon varities for nest spring. He knows bout this stuff!! And shares info!
Thanks for the compliment, GrammysGarden....and so glad to hear you have a great crop (and very happy customers!).
Ozark, you may have hit the nail on the head about the melon plants being sun-starved. Sounds like they are finally taking off pretty good now that your corn is gone. I bet you end up with a nice crop. Do you think you'll have enough warm weather left? (I'm not sure when ya'll start getting cold up your way.)
Shoe.
"Do you think you'll have enough warm weather left? "
Horseshoe - We're a little colder than your area, as we're up on the Ozark Plateau here. September will be nice, and October is really our most pleasant month though the nights start to get cool then. Snow is possible, but not likely, by Halloween.
The big melons I have will have plenty of time to get ripe, but the ones setting on now probably won't make it. Next year I'll make sure my watermelons get plenty of sun. I thought I could get away with planting them in the corn this year, but I found that doesn't work very well.
Ozark,
I had second cycle melons set on last year at this time that made it fine. Of course September was warmer than usual last year.
Crossing fingers for ya, Ozark. But at least we know you'll end up with a definite harvest of some of them and quite possible a second one. Heck, you don't want them all coming in at once anyway, eh?
Have fun!
Shoe.
I had a simular experience in getting melons to set on late. ........not because of corn but hail. And I did miss out on some good first cycle plant strength. Anyway I brought in a 27½ pound Orangeglo watermelon today. These have a unique taste. I like them but want about 6 to 1 red to gold melons. These Orangeglos are the toughest grower that I have seen...one tough hombre.
Update - we're harvesting big ripe Tendersweet melons now, they're 20 to 25 lbs. each. My wife and I have eaten two, I've given three away, and there are about six more in the garden that will make it. Pretty good out of one 16' row, I think.
It's been an amazing 130 days or so since planting. Putting that row of watermelons between the corn rows sure set them back. Incidentally, the tendrils never did wilt down. They're still green, vigorous, and well-attached. It takes quite a pull to break them off, but I finally just picked a melon anyway and tried it.
The orange/yellow Tendersweet is sweet and has a good flavor, but it's a little different from what we're used to. What I'd like next year is a melon that's smaller, probably red, sweet, and more melons produced on the vines. I've read about Sugar Baby, is that a good variety?
Yep...Sugar Baby is yummy! Tops out usually around ten pounds or so, round, very sweet.
Shoe.
Ozark, I think you are confusing the stem with the tendril. Watermelons never turn loose of the vine and the stem should be green and tough. Watermelon quality drops off rapidly here as the daylight hours decrease.
Yes, the quality drops off here too with shorter days and cooler temps.....especially with cantaloupes. Last September was very warm and I did pick a very sweet 20 pounder in early October, but this year the late ones [second efforts] are small and I doubt that they will be very sweet or flavorable.
"Ozark, I think you are confusing the stem with the tendril. Watermelons never turn loose of the vine and the stem should be green and tough." - Farmerdill
Ha! Well, that shows what I know. I've only grown cantaloupes before, and I kept expecting the stem to wilt and the watermelon to fall off. Those TENDRILS have been brown for a long time!
Our temps have been getting cooler, especially at night. It sounds like we'd better be eating the rest of those melons pretty quick. I'm laughing at myself. Thanks!