It is important to glean Citrullus vulgaris when they are ripe and not before ! Because the ripeness of the watermelon is veil under the outer cutis as a bright , rich , weak flesh inside , the only certain fashion to acknowledge the quality of the flesh and its ripeness is to crack it open . But , of course , a collapse melon is unsellable .
The timing and efficiency of harvest are also important . You do not want to reap unripe melons , of course of study . You also want to focus your crop so all melons that need pick are pick at the same time .
There are , gratefully , many fast one and tips used to help growers empathise when a watermelon is ripe and quick for picking . But which proficiency is most precise ? Here we will explore some of the method discussed and focus on the skilful means to manage watermelon harvest time .
Advice Abounds
masses will tell you that a melon is ripe when it vocalise hollow when thumped with your knuckles . They will also say to look for the bighearted yellowish moon point on the undersurface of the melon vine where it rest on the ground . Some will tell you to hold back for the unripened outer rind to become deep in colour and for the lines between the lighter and dark greens to be very distinct .
I have assure lists of as many as 12 ways to say when a melon is advanced ! But the three best methods , which make the most sentiency , are actually moderately simple .
1. Watch the Calendar
First , choose a melon and make banknote of thedays to maturity(DTM ) for the smorgasbord .
For a melon vine , though , this DTM sometimes argue days from transfer in the field of battle . So verify you understand the difference between transplantation and unmediated seeding .
Read more : Use your melon vine to grow tasty melons this class .
2. Mind the DTM
Second , follow good cultural practices for watermelon vine production in your area . I turn melons how most do in the northeastern and northerly USA and all of Canada , which includes :
Done as such , a DTM will be very accurate .
3. Repeat
Third , grow the same varieties every year . This way you will get good at understand how the melons mature and come across their ripeness .
call back those 12 planetary house of ripeness ! They are all , in fact , literal . But these augury can be very confusing if you grow many unlike melon , never repeating . So check that to adhere to some variety .
say more : Harvest bins , crate and tray are of the essence for small farm .
4. Ripen Together
fourthly , commercial agriculturalist should select varieties that lean to ripen together . This way , you’re able to glean the integral plot at once .
This also stand for that , if you check a few melons by swerve them open and they are perfect , you’re able to moderately assume the rest of the patch is also absolutely ripe .
observe , most of the suggestion above actually just say you to bed your melon vine kind and mature it decent . These are really the best indicators of ripeness .
If you have sex the melon is 75 24-hour interval from transfer into the study , and you plant it into the field on May 24th — into rich stain with a weed barrier mulch — and H2O to properly all season , then it is very reasonable to take over the melon vine will grow around august 10 - 15th . Andthenyou can jolly use any means of assess ripeness to help insure you the melon vine dapple is ready .
But what is the best indicant on the actual melon vine ’s ripeness , other than cutting one open?Well , let me add one more conjuration to your list .
I used to grow about 1500 to 3000 melons each summer for my CSA programme and farmers market . And over the years , I found that the most reliable style of telling a melon vine ’s ripeness is to look at the point where the stalk comes off the melon itself and connects to the main vine of the plant .
At this joint point of melon vine straw and main vine , there is usually a little leaf and a little curly tendril . When this leafage and/or tendril is ironic ( or dry ) , the melon is consummate . If 50 percent of the fleck read signal of this , then the whole patch is quick . Harvest away !
Grow On ,
Zach
