How to Harvest Watermelon

Picking your first ripe watermelon must rate as one of summer's greatest pleasures! After waiting months for the melon to mature, it is super important that you know how to tell if your melon is perfectly ripe and ready for harvest.

Check out the description on your watermelon's seed packet or the tag that came with your seedling for the days to maturity. This number estimates the number of days it takes from seed germination to get mature fruit and it will give you a good idea of when you can expect to harvest ripe melons.

As your expected maturity date approaches, monitor your melon vines and the watermelons. Check for ripe fruit every evening for about a week before the estimated date to catch any early birds.

Look at the curly tendrils where the watermelon's stem attaches to the fruit. Light green, succulent tendrils indicate the melon is still ripening, while dry, brown ones typically mean the melon is ready for harvest.

Run your hand over the melon. The skin tends to feel a bit rougher when ripe. Then try the thumbnail test. The melon is most likely ripe if your nail fails to make an indentation in the skin.

Check your watermelon's belly. The melon's underside loses its greenish color and takes on a warm yellow hue as it ripens.

Pick the melon, snipping it off the vine at the stem with scissors.

Chill the melon for a few hours and serve.

Watermelon is a good source of Potassium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

Ripe watermelons crack easily; be careful not to drop the ripe fruit.