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Making It Grow! News Articles

July 18, 2005

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When I was a young 4-H'er at Camp Bob Cooper on the Santee Lakes, there was song we would sing about watermelons. Part of the lyrics went--"Plant a watermelon at the head of my grave and let the juice run through. The chicken and the possum are all mighty fine, but there ain't 'nuttin' like that watermelon rind." Not many South Carolinians dislike watermelons and its sweet juice.

Question: We are growing our first crop of watermelons this year and they are beginning to look ready, at least from the ones the deer step into. Can we go ahead and harvest them and let them ripen in the house or do they need to stay on the vine? Everyone tells me to give them a hard rap with my hand and listen to the sound but that advice doesn't give me a clue. Help, these vines are taking up half the garden!

Answer: Watermelons do take a lot of space. To grow a fruit that may weight 20 pounds or more takes a lot of leaf surface and lots of roots to pump that fruit full of water. Florence County Agent Tony Melton had a segment on his SC Channel television show, More Making It Grow, all about how to pick watermelons and cantelopes. Here is his advice.

Watermelons do not get any sweeter after they are picked so they should not be harvested early. If you are picking a melon from the field, you can look at the tendril on the vine that is closest to the stem. When this uppermost tendril turns brown and curls, like a pig's tail, that is a sign that the melon is ripe. At that point, gently turn the melon over and examine the underside. A ripe melon has a light yellow belly. If the skin is green or white, turn the melon back over and let it continue to grow. Do not, however, let the color develop into a deep yellow or the melon will be overripe and mealy.

Another trick Tony shared with his viewers was to feel the surface for ridges. A mature melon will have slight ridges that run the length of the fruit that you can feel with your fingers. Again, if the ridges are highly developed, the melon is probably too ripe.

If you know what variety you planted, you can check the numbers of days until maturity. Clemson's Home and Garden Information website has a good write up on watermelons and lists the most commonly planted varieties with the number of days each takes to reach maturity.

Thumping melons is an art that few of us will every master and can damage the heart of the melon. Also, different varieties grown today give off different sounds when ripe, unlike the old days when everyone grew Charleston Grey or the hollow-heart but sweet Congo.