Watermelon question

[{OF}Barney_B]

My oldest daughter wanted me to grow some watermelons in the garden this year. She even bought the seeds so I planted them. They grew and now I have quite a few of them. My problem is I don't know how to tell when they're ripe and ready to be picked. My daughter went out and just grabbed one at random but it was still yellow inside not red so I would venture to say it wasn't ripe. Anyone know how to tell if a watermelon is ripe or not?...besides cutting it open.

[{OF}Flying_Dutchman]

Boy ya got me. How about smell? (though you may not want the neighbours seeing you bending over and sniffing watermelons..... )

[{OF}Turf]

How can you tell if a watermelon is ripe? Maturity is difficult to determine without plugging (cutting a small wedge) and testing. It is VERY important not to harvest melons when they are immature because total sugar does not increase after they come off the vine. Four commonly used methods (harvest indices) for determining watermelon maturity are: METHOD CHARACTERISTIC CHANGE IN FRUIT

1. Color of: Color of rind on the part of the "ground spot" melon touching the ground ("ground spot") changed from greenish-white to pale yellow when ripe.

2. Sound when thumped: Ripe melon emits a dull or hollow sound, compared to a clear ring of an immature fruit.

3. Condition of tendril: Tendril at the point of adjacent to stem end. attachment withers and dried out at fruit maturity.

4. Feel and appearance of: Rind feels slightly rough with rind surface dull, opaque appearance, compared to the shiny, glossy, smoother feel of an immature fruit.

In general, no one method will guarantee identification of the desired stage of fruit maturity during the critical 10-14 day period in which a typical red-fleshed watermelon passes from immature pink to red ripe to over-ripe. Indeed, these four methods are only indicators of fruit ripeness and the exact stage of maturity can only be determined by "plugging" or sampling a section of the fruit for flavor and soluble solids. Obviously, "plugging" is a destructive process and can only be used to determine the maturity of a representative sample of a grower's field on a given date. Plugging to verify the accuracy of the four non-destructive methods outlined above is highly recommended, especially for someone who is not highly experienced in assessing watermelon maturity.

Relative fruit size is another non-destructive harvest index for estimating watermelon maturity. However, extreme caution must be exercised when using fruit size alone as a harvest index. While fruit size is characteristic for each variety at maturity fruit size can vary considerably because of difference in (a) fertility and moisture conditions of the soil, (b) plant spacing and density, and © time of year. In general, the first fruit set are the largest and fruit size becomes smaller as the season progresses. Soil productivity may even vary considerably within the same field resulting in a distinct variance in the size of mature fruit in different sections of the field the same day. The degree of reliability or effectiveness of nondestructive harvest indicates may vary among varieties. Thus, the grower or home gardener will need to adopt a strategy for harvesting each variety based on wise use of plugging to determine actual fruit quality correlated with the four nondestructive harvest indices.

http://www.plantanswers.com/garden_c...ne02/june5.htm

[dudio]

Good job Turf.
The only way I knew was the tapping/sound as well as feel.
.. not even sure how I learned that.

must be my natural admiration of nice melons.

[{OF}BadDaWg]

[{OF}Impaired]

If my name Aint IMPAIRED.... here's what ya do.....


Pick the freaking melon..

Cut small 2" diameter sized hole near top..


Insert spout end of 40 0Z of VODKA into previously cut opening.



Leave to Drain

wait two days.


Ciut long grass from neighbours back yard and proceed to make grass skirts!!!!

Tkae said melong ball of "FUN" and prceed to cut into smaller dixie cup sized chunks!!


ENCOURAGE MASS RAPID CONSUMPTION of little "cupps" of FUN FRUIT!!

Stand way abck and try not to allow fruit partakers to enjoy ribs, steak and chicken goodies cooked ...

Last point is very important if the presance of the "GLADMAN" is not expected!!!




Again Im Imp....... and its a great nite cheers


side note,,, I will review when sober tomorrow.. until then hold off on the lack of spel check

[{OF}DMW]

I'm not even sure spell checker would want to waste it's time with that one imp.

[Smiley]

But that was a good one Imp! Sure nice to know experienced people

[{OF}Flying_Dutchman]

LOL Imp. That reminded me of this old recipe:

Grandma's Fruticake Recipe
============================




You'll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large eggs, two cups of dried fruit, two cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts and a bottle of whiskey.

Sample the whiskey to check for quality.

Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again. To be sure it's the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

Make sure the whiskey is still okay.

Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Beat two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the tuner. If the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey again. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window, check the whiskey again and go to bed.


Oh and Barney, (sorry)

[{OF}Blong]

my favorite fruit is....


take a brand new trash can put a brand new garbage bag in it. dump some alcohol soaked fruit into the garbage bag. then add a few fifths of different alcohol. maybe add some koolaid packs to it. mix it up and mmmmm nummy .