Is It Ready yet?

There is nothing like growing your own watermelon.

Most years we try a new watermelon variety to compare the taste , size and growing requirments. This year we grew a Nancy watermelon, a heritage variety known for its white seeds, thin rind and sweet flesh.

With the rain during the past few weeks, we were able to pick a melon that weighed about 25 lbs. Many more are growing and hopefully with the rain won't be more water than melon.

How did we know it was ready? Watermelons don't ripen after harvest so if your melon isn't sweet it's due to the variety , too much water from rainfall or irrigation, or  an early harvest. We looked for a dry tendril and the telltale dull thump on percussion to determine readiness.

The brown curly tendril  wrapped around the leaf stem is the first clue. The yellow underbelly of the melon is another, and the dull sound when thumped is pretty reliable. You can gently thump you chest to see the best pitch your melon should have. Thump your forehead to hear what an unripe melon sounds like- higher pitch. 

Ice cold with a pinch of salt and this melon is a keeper. Saving the seeds to plant more next year. 

This is definitely a nourish well fruit with Vitamins C, A, B6, lycopene,  and citrulline . The Nancy watermelon is not commonly found in stores due to its size ( about 25 lbs), thin rind ( easily damaged with shipping) and hard white seeds.

Their loss is our gain.