Sunday, August 10, 2014

Sugar Baby watermelon ripeness test

This is the first sugar baby I harvested - the tendril was withered, the bottom spot has turned from white to cream. I didn't know when the tendril had withered - a suggestion I've read was that you should harvest 7 to 10 days after it withers, so I was just testing here. I guess the tendril withers in the wild ancestor of the watermelon to let the ripe fruit fall. The tendril on these plants that you check is the one that grows next to the stem that connects the watermelon to the vine. Now I'll mark the watermelons that have withered tendrils and wait longer to harvest. It also said that it should be harvested before the stem itself starts to wither. The melons don't follow a schedule - the oldest and biggest one still has an unwithered tendril.
Withered tendril
6 inches, 15cm, 4.6 pounds, 2 kg
White spot on bottom turned to creamy color
before cutting - the stripes for this type should be about the same color as the rest of the melon
Cut - flesh still white but turning pink, seeds white. Flesh is actually sweet and edible, so not a loss! 

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