How do you know when it is time to pick watermelon how can I be sure it is ripe?
Answers:
From Burpee:
Watermelon mature rapidly during hot weather. Most are ripe about 32 days after blooming.
Some indicators of maturity are: tendrils or pigtails on vines change from green to brown, the ground spot on the belly of the melon turns from white to yellow, and the thumping sound changes from a metallic ringing when immature to a soft hollow sound when mature.
From Purdue University News:
Consumers who still want to thump the watermelon should listen closely when their finger flicks the fruit. "An unripe watermelon will 'ping' when thumped. An overripe watermelon will 'thud.' The one you want to buy is somewhere in between," Egel said.
Other answers:
There are a lot of opinions. Here's mine-when the stripes on the watermelon are light green, dark green, light green, and when you flick it, it sounds like THUNK.
There are a lot of opinions. Here's mine-when the stripes on the watermelon are light green, dark green, light green, and when you flick it, it sounds like THUNK.
Tap on the outer shell
Tap three times
Tap on it and smell it
All of the above... I also hear that you want to look for the underside to be very yellow.