Ok so we do not Grow Watermelons

[wcd]

I am guessing at some point someone threw out some watermelon rinds seeds out the back door at some point in the spring, well now there is about 5 or 10 plants out there surprisingly there are watermelons on the vines. Anyone have any idea how to tell when they are ripe?

thanks

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

The white spot where it has been resting on the ground should turn yellowish and it should feel heavy for its size.

One year I put in a flower garden for my wife on Mother's Day, using compost from our compost bin. We didn't have to buy pumpkins for Halloween that year.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

The white spot where it has been resting on the ground should turn yellowish and it should feel heavy for its size.

One year I put in a flower garden for my wife on Mother's Day, using compost from our compost bin. We didn't have to buy pumpkins for Halloween that year.

I remember as a kid, I think I talked Dad into planting pumpkins in the garden (we had a huge garden, about 50'x75'). Dad chose some kind of hybrid that just went crazy. We had pumpkins growing up in the line of big white pines to the north of the garden. A couple of the pumpkins on the ground were so big that they took two men to lift.

 

[MrSmitty]

They’re dangerous, best not take any chances shoot to kill!!! Channel your inner Gunny Ermey….
Did I mention I hate watermelons?….

 

[Nazgul]

We have had volunteer pumpkins coming up for 5 years now. Planted a couple for the grandkids and now they are everywhere. In the garden, the flower garden, and in front of the house.

This year is especially good for them for some reason. Grandkids will have a ball in a few months.

Don

 

[BGDave]

I am guessing at some point someone threw out some watermelon rinds seeds out the back door at some point in the spring, well now there is about 5 or 10 plants out there surprisingly there are watermelons on the vines. Anyone have any idea how to tell when they are ripe?

thanks

Back in my miss-spent youth when we rustled watermelons.
Small enough to run with and darker on the bottom.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

We have had volunteer pumpkins coming up for 5 years now. Planted a couple for the grandkids and now they are everywhere. In the garden, the flower garden, and in front of the house.

This year is especially good for them for some reason. Grandkids will have a ball in a few months.

Don

My pumpkins would never volunteer for anything. I had to practically threaten them with a knife to get them to do anything. If they refused then, I'd cut a hole in the top of them and scrape out their guts. Then I'd do unspeakable things like carving a face on their side.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Back in my miss-spent youth when we rustled watermelons.
Small enough to run with and darker on the bottom.

Mister, we hang watermelon rustlers 'round these parts...

 

[MrSmitty]

My pumpkins would never volunteer for anything. I had to practically threaten them with a knife to get them to do anything. If they refused then, I'd cut a hole in the top of them and scrape out their guts. Then I'd do unspeakable things like carving a face on their side.

Wait..isn’t that the plot of Reservoir Dogs?

 

[snapping turtle]

I only have a single answer to this question below

 

[Ark]

They’re dangerous, best not take any chances shoot to kill!!! Channel your inner Gunny Ermey….
Did I mention I hate watermelons?….

Man, that's an old reference.

I credit Mail Call and Tales of the Gun with making me a gun nerd as a kid. Used to record them on VHS and stash the tapes to watch when the parents weren't around. RIP Gunny.

 

[KokomoDave]

I used to love spiking watermelons and taking them to parties! The girls usually were friskier after a couple servings...

 

[Cameramonkey]

Welcome to the club. Planted my first this year. This is how to tell. I can confirm.
If you look carefully at the stem, back where it attaches to the main vine, you will see a weird tendril. As the melon ripens, the tendril will wither and turn brown. When it withers away and falls off (or nearly so) its time to pick.


I picked a melon with the tendril just brown and wilty. It was edible, but there were yellow streaks still in the fruit. So it appears that we need to wait until it all but falls off?

How a watermelon tendril signifies ripeness

Walter Reeves answers Atlanta-area lawn and garden questions, including watermelon ripeness clues, and what to do about blueberry plants from outside Georgia.

www.ajc.com

 

[wcd]

Man, that's an old reference.

I credit Mail Call and Tales of the Gun with making me a gun nerd as a kid. Used to record them on VHS and stash the tapes to watch when the parents weren't around. RIP Gunny.

?

 

[Creedmoor]

I remember as a kid, I think I talked Dad into planting pumpkins in the garden (we had a huge garden, about 50'x75'). Dad chose some kind of hybrid that just went crazy. We had pumpkins growing up in the line of big white pines to the north of the garden. A couple of the pumpkins on the ground were so big that they took two men to lift.

My great uncles put in about 4 acres of watermelons and honeydews every year in their working years.
It kept all of the familys personal slaves busy at picking time loading the trailer with four gaylords to take to the bi-weekly farm market.
I wish I had a buck for every 50 bu bag of white corn I picked growing up.

 

[Ark]

?

R. Lee Ermey - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Among his many roles, he hosted a military history show on History Channel called Mail Call, which frequently featured watermelons getting destroyed by various historical guns.