It’s silly but I was really worried about this when I planted my watermelons back in February. I’ve never grown them before. I had no idea how big this variety gets, and no idea how to decide whether the melon was ripe. I was really worried I would waste my first, great big watermelon by either harvesting it while it was unripe, or accidentally letting it rot by not picking it in time. Hurray for the internet!

I learned there are three things to look for:

1. The tendril:  When the tendril closest to the melon dries up and turns brown, you know the plant is no longer sending water to the melon. It’s not going to get any larger from this point on. (Use common sense here: if the leaves are dried up, too, that’s water stress, not ripeness.)
2. The creamy spot:  There should be a creamy white or yellow spot where the watermelon rests against the ground. (This presumes you haven’t disturbed its natural orientation.) My husband says the spot should be yellow, not white, but as he’s never grown watermelon either, and hasn’t cited any source, I have know way of judging the credibility of that statement. (Yes, I fact-check my hubby.)
3. The sound:  The melon should sound hollow when you hold it to your ear and thump it. Personally, this is the most difficult test for me, because I grew up eating watermelon from the grocery store, where they are all presumably ripe. They certainly all sounded the same to me. But growing my own, I was able to thump the young ‘uns and compare that sound to the ripe melon. So now I think I’ve got this part down.

The video was shot with my iPhone on July 20. Unfortunately I never got to share this watermelon with my Mom as intended. We forgot to eat it while she was in town. Fortunately, since I harvested this one, I got four more, so I’ll be taking a couple up to her house this weekend. They are SO good. And I love this one-or-two-serving-size variety – it makes much more sense for a small household.

This will be one of my last garden reports for this growing season, if not the very last. As you’ll see in the video, my poor plants are frying in the intense 115ËšF heat.

Just a little tour showing progress so far. Nothing easier than rolling outside with my phone and shooting a little Qik video. I’ve got plants. Most of them I started from seed. Most of them grew. Hurray me! Soundtrack by local birds. Guest appearance by White Kitty.

Now, I don’t remember what date I shot it, or what I wanted to say. Duh.