Picking the right watermelon

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  No, not Christmas, it’s watermelon time here in the South.  As we settle into the dog days of summer, what’s more refreshing than a big ol’ hunk of watermelon?  After all, our own federal government passed a resolution making July “National Watermelon Month.” Why not? These delicious beauties are just as Americana as baseball and apple pie.  The problem that some folks run into is how to tell when a melon is ripe.

My watermelon patch this year.

Certain methods of checking ripeness are as old as the watermelon itself. Thumping a melon is pretty tried and true.  If it sounds hollow, it is ripe.  Another thumping method works like this: If the thump on the watermelon sounds like a thump on your forehead, then the melon isn’t quite ripe.  If a thump on your throat matches the thump of the melon, the melon is ripe.  If you thump your breastbone and that sounds like the thump on the melon, then it is overripe.  I have found this to be pretty effective.  However, you might get weird looks from neighbors and strangers if you are caught thumping your forehead over and over again.

Looking at the color of the watermelon can also help you pick the perfect fruit.  The color on the top and bottom are both key. The watermelon is ripe when there is little contrast between the stripes when looking at the top of the watermelon.  Also, give the bottom of the melon a looking over. A green (unripe) watermelon will have a white bottom; a ripe melon will have a cream and/or yellow bottom.

You can also press on the melon. If it gives a little, and I mean a very little, it is ripe. This is not recommended because it can ruin the quality of the fruit.

If the melon is still in the garden, check the tendril. If it's green, wait. If it’s half-dead, the watermelon is nearly ripe or ripe. If the tendril is fully dead, it's ripe or overripe.

                                     

This tendril (located beneath the stem) says this watermelon is ripe.

My favorite way of checking a watermelon is the straw test.  Place the fruit on a level surface and then place a piece of broom straw on the melon, parallel with the stripes.  If the straw turns perpendicular (and may turn a full 180 degrees) the melon is ripe.  I have seen this done several times and it has worked without fail.  Don’t ask me how it works.  Let’s just say, it’s magic!

It doesn’t matter how you “slice” it (melon humor, my friends), there are many ways to check the ripeness of a melon.  Maybe even some that your Great Uncle’s friend of a friend told you.  If so, I want to hear about it.

Happy Gardening!

Kevin