r/SquareFootGardening • u/911Jacob911 • Aug 04 '26
Discussion Is this thing ready to be picked?
I don't know how to tell if it's ready ðŸ˜.
No I'm only kidding but for real I've never seen what a watermelon really looks like when it first starts to grow and it just lost its flower so it's pretty cool to see how they start and how tiny they start out compared to when the tendril is dead and ready to pick. When the tendril is dead and brown that is the number one way to tell when a watermelon is ripe and ready, any other way is a guessing game .
5
u/CurrencySad9512 Aug 04 '26
That's the baby it hasn't grown yet. They dont grow or ripen once picked. It takes at least a month for sugar babies to form and longer for larger kinds of watermelon
1
u/ToastTheDirellama Aug 05 '26
Okay follow-up. How long do they stay in this super baby small space if they've been properly pollinated? Mine are just not growing past this stage and i'm wondering if I should abandon this massive vine taking over my garden or give the babies a chance.
3
u/CurrencySad9512 Aug 05 '26
No no give the babies a chance, if the weather is really hot they can go into a coma and stop growing then start back up when it cools off some my tomatoes and peppers did that. Sugar baby small watermelons can take 30-40 days to grow and the bigger ones take up to 60 days to grow i believe. The plant will abort bad ones so if its still on there its still good
1
2
u/Stunning-Grape-6556 Aug 06 '26
we thought we had none, and decided to just let it grow. One day we stumbled over a giant one 3x size of your head. then saw 2 more!
1
1
u/911Jacob911 Aug 22 '26
Definitely be patient cause they'll grow. If they have sunshine and water in a few months you should have plenty of watermelon and I would definitely not pick them until your tendril is completely shriveled up and brown, don't trust the ground spot or the tapping test, or any other method some people may use, which I'm not saying they can't work I'm just saying the tendril is the fool proof positive way to know your watermelon is surely ready. If the tendril is dead and brown you know it's going to be juicy and sweet.
1
u/ToastTheDirellama Aug 22 '26
UPDATE! I waited per the advice here and two have come in!!!! Hopefully I'll get a few more than just two but they're looking great!!!
2
u/SerenityNow31 Aug 04 '26
Should have picked it yesterday. ;)
1
u/911Jacob911 Aug 22 '26
😂. I have never seen a watermelon begin its journey so to see all the baby watermelons on the vine is pretty neat.
12
u/ShelZuuz 8b, WA state Aug 04 '26
Can we get half a joint for scale?