When is my Watermelon Ready to Pick?

Good question! You need a long, hot summer and a good location to grow Watermelon but if you’re lucky enough to have that then you may be able to grow Watermelon. The question is, when do you pick? Because after all that hard work you don’t want to spoil it all by picking too late or indeed too early.

But don’t worry there are signs that will tell you when is the right time.

The first sign to look for is the nearest tendril to the fruit. It will be curled and, if the Watermelon is ripe, it will brown and shrivelled. The one in the photo is not, so this Watermelon is not yet ready.

Next look for a small cup-shaped leaf near to the fruit called the ‘spoon’ leaf. It’s about the size of a teaspoon and different from the other leaves. If this leaf is brown and shrivelled or has even fallen off then this is another sign that the Watermelon is ready.

Lastly, inspect the underside of the Watermelon. Is there a white patch, or lighter patch on the Watermelon. If so then this could be a sign that it’s not ready. Ripe Watermelons should be a nice deep green colour all over.

So there you go. If all the signs are there, harvest now, before the weather gets any worse.