Thanks Jill! I’ve always used the dried “curly cue”/tendril test and yellowing. I can never tell on the thump test either! Our watermelons and cantaloupes did amazing this year as well! They were in complete sun, but they did not have much compost. We gave them away to everyone. We thought they were done for the year, but josh went out this week and new plants are growing with new melons already! Praying we will get to harvest them before a frost comes. This was our first garden at our new house and it has been so plentiful!
I grew watermelons for the first time this year- Sugar Babies. I think it's the sunshine more than anything, because I planted mine in plain ol' dirt. Granted, it was dirt that had been under pine trees for decades, up until last fall. So, years of natural compost, perhaps? But, other than giving it a little Rev when I transplanted it, I didn't do anything to improve the soil. The vines cover a 20' square!
I think the knock test works because as the melon ripens from the center out, the rigid white rind becomes thinner and thinner. So you're knocking on a more watery bag than something rigid like plywood as the rigid rind becomes thinner and thinner with ripening. Just look at the photos of a fully ripe watermelon and notice how thin the white rind is. Thanks for posting this video!
Thank you for the tips I'm a first-time grower of Georgia rattlesnakes melons as I watch these little beauties over the days I do not want to pick them at the wrong
Fantastic video! Great tip on when to harvest, I am always struggling to find the right time so will give this a try. Thanks for making this, and I LOVE the podcast too!
Many Thanks for an interesting video. Been along the same path as you as far as harvesting at the right time. I tried a new melon this year called Royal Golden and I picked it just today here in zone 5. I Will take it to the soccer game on Saturday and the grandkids and me will open it up and find out if I was lucky or perhaps good and then maybe we will have a nice treat. The Royal Golden is ripe when the outer skin turns yellow. I have watched several others regarding optimum harvest time for this melon and I think it might be a little different with the tendril. The the tendril on this was not dried up but 50% or so of the skin was yellow. I watched some on UA-cam harvest at the all yellow stage and it was a little over ripe. I have one more in the patch so this will be a good learning experience for me. We also have the Crimson Sweet and the Georgia Rattlesnake. Again this clip was timely and informative. Thanks!
Interesting, Jim! Just yesterday I noticed one of my other varieties that had the yellow spot (and deep thump) with a not-brown tendril and it threw me. I am growing Orangeglo, which is yellow, so it may be that one, and it may be different. Thank you for sharing that with me. I'll have to reconsider when I pick that one!
Something I recently found out, a watermelon is actually a vegetable and not a fruit!! I was taught my whole life It was a fruit. Found out, if it grows on a vine it's considered a vegetable and not a fruit. Also okra is actually a fruit although people fry it and put it in gumbo as a vegetable!! It's crazy huh? Their are other fruit/veggies that is this same way! Anyways, I thought I would just share this!! Love your video by the way! Hoping to grow lots of melons this year!! GOOD LUCK TOO YOU AS WELL!!
Very good tips! Which growing zone/region are you growing these watermelon in? I have a short growing season in Lynden, WA, so I have little margin for error. So far so good for me this year 😀
Raised beds throw off more heat above ground. Try that next year with black plastic layer for compost and they will really get big . I use black plastic garbage sacks leave in one sheet don’t break the bags up put down and cut to size of garden. It helps keep weeds completely out. And holds the warm moisture. It works great but watermelon love their soil to be warm so raised beds are wonderful for watermelon. Don’t go off water melons it doesn’t work use the easy vine pull off just like a cantaloupe. It won’t break off like a watermelon but it should pop off easy
Nothing like getting the perfectly ripe sweetened watermelon 🍉, I think down in the woods you might have also planted two many to close together. Did you fertilize any? What state are you in ?
The water melon is actually desert plant and it's roots going very deep down looking for minerals and water, but the clay on the bottom of your soil prevent it, this is why they not that big. And yes they love the sun, but partial shade is not a biggest problem.
The reason the one watermelon bed didn't produce was because of those morning glory's, they grow multiple feet overnight and wrap around and strangle your other garden plants, Coincidentally I had the same morning glory's here in NE Oklahoma after planting loufa which overtook my entire ground garden to where I had to soil sterilize it for multiple years to try to kill those morning glory's that wont die and start from scratch new garden beds in a separate location. Those morning glory's may be pretty but they are instant death to a garden bed.
I had the same surprise with the Sugar Baby Watermelon. It took over. This year (2022) I'm growing a very compact vined plant that grows about a foot and a half long! (Really) Here is the description....Cal Sweet Bush Watermelon 90 days.(Seeds-n-Such, 25 seeds, $2.99) First variety to win the prestigious AAS Award for 2019! Our first container watermelon produces at least one fruit per vine, each exceptionally sweet and tasty, with crisp, bright red flesh and weighing 10 to 12-lbs. If planted in ground even with limited space, productivity soars to 2 to 3 fruits per plant. Compact, bushy vines reach only 18-in. but offer enough foliage cover to protect the fruits. Beautiful dark-green-striped watermelon pattern and shape. Picnic-size fruits are a favorite for commercial growers and for those who sell at farmers markets.
The tendril test! A melon needs a dried tendril to be ripe but a dried tendril does not mean the melon is ripe .... if you pick a melon as soon as the tendril has dried most probably it will not be ripe! Thumping a melon works But you have to be an expert, for example two different sized melons sound completely different, you have to get to know the type of sound for your variety and its size. Yellow bottom is great But not with all melons. One of the best ways to tell if your melon is ripe is by studying the skin pattern. The pattern on your melon changes as it ripens .... look for contrast as in the stripes are becoming more well defined or if no stripes the colour will be changing. (take photos for comparison) Also hold the melon to your ear and squeeze, do you hear crunching ? Smell the blosom end for ripeness if you are a border collie or better still some professional growers smash many melons on the ground for a look inside! The condition of the stem where it joins the melon gives clues and often your plants may be looking sick by the time the melon is ripe. Is it true that water melons are an aphrodisiac, no comment.
I haven't done any this year but it's something I've considered for the future. If you follow me on Instagram (@thebeginnersgarden) that's where I show my garden most.
First time growing sugar baby watermelon and the tendril test and the yellow bottom was an epic fail for me! the seed had not even changed color! It was not ripe!!!!
I'm so sorry to hear that! I had one this year that didn't have a tendril, so I compared the "sheen" to some I knew were younger. It was significantly different. Also, thumping comparing the one I think is right to one I know isn't ripe, helps. Usually, I check all of those factors before pulling, but sometimes it still doesn't always work 100% of the time.
Thanks Jill! I’ve always used the dried “curly cue”/tendril test and yellowing. I can never tell on the thump test either! Our watermelons and cantaloupes did amazing this year as well! They were in complete sun, but they did not have much compost. We gave them away to everyone. We thought they were done for the year, but josh went out this week and new plants are growing with new melons already! Praying we will get to harvest them before a frost comes. This was our first garden at our new house and it has been so plentiful!
Thanks for this. Watermelon is my favorite fruit and have be unsuccessful so far. I will definitely try your methods this year!!!
I grew watermelons for the first time this year- Sugar Babies. I think it's the sunshine more than anything, because I planted mine in plain ol' dirt. Granted, it was dirt that had been under pine trees for decades, up until last fall. So, years of natural compost, perhaps? But, other than giving it a little Rev when I transplanted it, I didn't do anything to improve the soil. The vines cover a 20' square!
I think the knock test works because as the melon ripens from the center out, the rigid white rind becomes thinner and thinner. So you're knocking on a more watery bag than something rigid like plywood as the rigid rind becomes thinner and thinner with ripening. Just look at the photos of a fully ripe watermelon and notice how thin the white rind is. Thanks for posting this video!
Wow, this Sugar BB is huge!
Thank you for the tips I'm a first-time grower of Georgia rattlesnakes melons as I watch these little beauties over the days I do not want to pick them at the wrong
You are just as lovely as your watermelons thank you for the video I have watched it twice I'm addicted I guess
Good job 100%. That was a practical video .BTW, your garden is really gorgeous . I wish I had a garden like yours.
Fantastic video! Great tip on when to harvest, I am always struggling to find the right time so will give this a try. Thanks for making this, and I LOVE the podcast too!
Thank you!
Many Thanks for an interesting video. Been along the same path as you as far as harvesting at the right time. I tried a new melon this year called Royal Golden and I picked it just today here in zone 5. I Will take it to the soccer game on Saturday and the grandkids and me will open it up and find out if I was lucky or perhaps good and then maybe we will have a nice treat. The Royal Golden is ripe when the outer skin turns yellow. I have watched several others regarding optimum harvest time for this melon and I think it might be a little different with the tendril. The the tendril on this was not dried up but 50% or so of the skin was yellow. I watched some on UA-cam harvest at the all yellow stage and it was a little over ripe. I have one more in the patch so this will be a good learning experience for me. We also have the Crimson Sweet and the Georgia Rattlesnake. Again this clip was timely and informative. Thanks!
Interesting, Jim! Just yesterday I noticed one of my other varieties that had the yellow spot (and deep thump) with a not-brown tendril and it threw me. I am growing Orangeglo, which is yellow, so it may be that one, and it may be different. Thank you for sharing that with me. I'll have to reconsider when I pick that one!
I like how u grow ur melon I'm grow watermelon this year I plant Congo n crimson sweet I'm see what they do n my big container
Something I recently found out, a watermelon is actually a vegetable and not a fruit!! I was taught my whole life It was a fruit. Found out, if it grows on a vine it's considered a vegetable and not a fruit. Also okra is actually a fruit although people fry it and put it in gumbo as a vegetable!! It's crazy huh? Their are other fruit/veggies that is this same way! Anyways, I thought I would just share this!! Love your video by the way! Hoping to grow lots of melons this year!! GOOD LUCK TOO YOU AS WELL!!
Very good tips! Which growing zone/region are you growing these watermelon in? I have a short growing season in Lynden, WA, so I have little margin for error. So far so good for me this year 😀
Spoon? Salt and fork please yummy! Enjoyed the video thank you.
Great video! I’m growing 3 different varieties this year, so I really appreciate the tips. BTW, I LOVE your patio furniture!
Raised beds throw off more heat above ground. Try that next year with black plastic layer for compost and they will really get big . I use black plastic garbage sacks leave in one sheet don’t break the bags up put down and cut to size of garden. It helps keep weeds completely out. And holds the warm moisture. It works great but watermelon love their soil to be warm so raised beds are wonderful for watermelon. Don’t go off water melons it doesn’t work use the easy vine pull off just like a cantaloupe. It won’t break off like a watermelon but it should pop off easy
Love your outdoor furniture love the colors. You have a beautiful yard wish I had it .
Very helpful! Thankyou!
Have you tried Dehydrated watermelon. It's like candy My grandkids absolutely love it.
Could it have been that you had regular Sugar Baby plants and not Bush? Beautiful harvest, either way!
Thank you
Your asparagus sure looks good.
Nothing like getting the perfectly ripe sweetened watermelon 🍉, I think down in the woods you might have also planted two many to close together. Did you fertilize any? What state are you in ?
The thump tells you if it is sandy or over ripe if you tap on it and it sounds like you are slapping a flat tire it's over ripe
The water melon is actually desert plant and it's roots going very deep down looking for minerals and water, but the clay on the bottom of your soil prevent it, this is why they not that big. And yes they love the sun, but partial shade is not a biggest problem.
Thank you for the video
The reason the one watermelon bed didn't produce was because of those morning glory's, they grow multiple feet overnight and wrap around and strangle your other garden plants, Coincidentally I had the same morning glory's here in NE Oklahoma after planting loufa which overtook my entire ground garden to where I had to soil sterilize it for multiple years to try to kill those morning glory's that wont die and start from scratch new garden beds in a separate location. Those morning glory's may be pretty but they are instant death to a garden bed.
I had the same surprise with the Sugar Baby Watermelon. It took over. This year (2022) I'm growing a very compact vined plant that grows about a foot and a half long! (Really) Here is the description....Cal Sweet Bush Watermelon
90 days.(Seeds-n-Such, 25 seeds, $2.99) First variety to win the prestigious AAS Award for 2019! Our first container watermelon produces at least one fruit per vine, each exceptionally sweet and tasty, with crisp, bright red flesh and weighing 10 to 12-lbs. If planted in ground even with limited space, productivity soars to 2 to 3 fruits per plant. Compact, bushy vines reach only 18-in. but offer enough foliage cover to protect the fruits. Beautiful dark-green-striped watermelon pattern and shape. Picnic-size fruits are a favorite for commercial growers and for those who sell at farmers markets.
How did the Cal Sweet bush turn out?
WOW - A 30# sugar baby !!!!
New to your channel. Do you thin to 2-3 melons per plant? It’s my first year growing melons.
The tendril test! A melon needs a dried tendril to be ripe but a dried tendril does not mean the melon is ripe .... if you pick a melon as soon as the tendril has dried most probably it will not be ripe! Thumping a melon works But you have to be an expert, for example two different sized melons sound completely different, you have to get to know the type of sound for your variety and its size. Yellow bottom is great But not with all melons. One of the best ways to tell if your melon is ripe is by studying the skin pattern. The pattern on your melon changes as it ripens .... look for contrast as in the stripes are becoming more well defined or if no stripes the colour will be changing. (take photos for comparison) Also hold the melon to your ear and squeeze, do you hear crunching ? Smell the blosom end for ripeness if you are a border collie or better still some professional growers smash many melons on the ground for a look inside! The condition of the stem where it joins the melon gives clues and often your plants may be looking sick by the time the melon is ripe. Is it true that water melons are an aphrodisiac, no comment.
Will you do a garden tour?
I haven't done any this year but it's something I've considered for the future. If you follow me on Instagram (@thebeginnersgarden) that's where I show my garden most.
It may have been the tree!?!
First time growing sugar baby watermelon and the tendril test and the yellow bottom was an epic fail for me! the seed had not even changed color! It was not ripe!!!!
I'm so sorry to hear that! I had one this year that didn't have a tendril, so I compared the "sheen" to some I knew were younger. It was significantly different. Also, thumping comparing the one I think is right to one I know isn't ripe, helps. Usually, I check all of those factors before pulling, but sometimes it still doesn't always work 100% of the time.
That melon is something else... and they say nothing is perfect, clearly they haven't seen this video.
The pine trees are acidic that’s not good for growing… more than shade I believe
Pine needles are not good to grow in or with.
I have a sugar baby the size of a basketball
💪💦
Yummy not the watermelon