Watermelon is adored for its sweetness, because this berry gets rid of thirst and removes toxic substances from the body. How to determine the ripeness of a watermelon in a garden is of interest to summer residents who planted this crop for the first time, because an unripe fruit is tasteless.
Although its pulp consists of more than 90% water, it contains vitamins and microelements such as phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. Folic acid, present in watermelon, strengthens the immune system, lycopene prevents cell degeneration, and tocopherol protects them from aging.Riboflavin helps convert carbohydrates into energy.
How to tell if a watermelon is ripe - main points
You can find out whether a striped berry is ripe by paying attention to certain signs. The fruits of some varieties of melons reach a weight of 20 kilograms, but if they stop growing, you can pick a watermelon after 20 days.
Worth paying attention:
- crusty appearance;
- on the color of the spot on the side;
- for the presence of sound.
When the berry ripens, the matte skin begins to shine and the stripes become clear. You should not cut a cube from a fruit in the garden to check its ripeness - the product will rot after a few days.
The tail of watermelons dries out when the weather is dry and hot, and the plant experiences a lack of moisture, so its appearance does not depend on whether the berry is green or ripe.
If the tendril, which is located in the same axil of the leaf with the tail, begins to dry, the striped fruit can already be cut off. The diameter of the watermelon depends on the variety. Only gardeners who have been growing it for a long time can determine ripeness.
By the appearance of the crust
To find out whether the fruit is ripe and has gained sweetness, you need to carefully examine its peel. When the berry stops receiving moisture from the plant, the rind becomes hard. In a ripe watermelon, dents and cracks cannot be felt on it, and the skin is not covered with a matte purine coating. The top layer of the fruit can be easily removed with a fingernail.
Almost black stripes clearly appear against the light background of the crust. When the berry ripens, the synthesis of chlorophyll, which gives the watermelon rind a green tint, stops.
When a melon crop grows in warmth and in the sun, when it ripens, its fruits acquire a contrasting color, shine appears, and a spot on the side turns yellow or becomes orange.The ripe berry has a slightly elongated shape.
On a dry stalk
Before cutting a watermelon, you need to carefully examine its tail. If it is dry, then most likely the berry has rotted or is overripe. Products with a green stalk are not suitable for consumption. For such a watermelon to ripen, it needs to grow in the garden for at least 2 weeks.
By sound
Unripe berries not only lack sweetness, but also contain harmful substances and can easily be poisoned. Although tomatoes and melons, which also belong to melon crops, ripen at home, some gardeners believe that it is better to pick watermelon earlier, but their opinion is not confirmed. There is another way to check the ripeness of the fruit. The product is suitable for use when a slight cracking sound occurs when squeezed, and when tapped, not a dull sound, but a ringing sound.
What should be the size and color of the earthen spot?
A watermelon that is grown in a garden bed does not turn on its own, so it constantly lies, touching the same side. A stain appears in this place. In ripe fruit it has an orange or yellow tint. If this “cheek” occupies a significant surface, the size exceeds 10 centimeters, has an uneven color or a pale color, it is better to wait until harvesting. When the berry ripens, the entire peel becomes covered with small spots that are much lighter than the peel itself.
Optimal weight
Breeders have developed different varieties of watermelons that are more adapted to a particular area, differ in size and weight, and ripen at different times. Skorik appears on retail shelves first. There are no stripes on the surface of the fruit; the rind is dark green in color.The weight of ripe watermelons rarely reaches 7 kilograms.
Photon matures quickly. The skin of this berry is lighter and painted with stripes.
The Crimson Gloria variety is characterized by:
- excellent transportability;
- very thick crust;
- huge in size.
One such fruit weighs 15-17 kilograms. The weight of Kherson watermelons is somewhat less. You can recognize them by their light stripes, thin peel, and elongated shape.
The hybrid variety Kholodok, although it ripens by the end of August, is valued for the fact that it does not spoil for a long time and retains its characteristics.
Astrakhan watermelon is different:
- smooth surface;
- the presence of dark stripes;
- bright green skin.
A sweet berry of this variety weighs up to 10 kilograms and is not damaged during transportation. This hybrid was bred at the end of the last century by Russian breeders.
What should be the color and structure of the pulp?
It is not recommended to eat watermelons if the concentration of nitrates in them exceeds the norm. Those gardeners who grow melons for their family, and not for sale, like farmers, do not stuff the fruits with harmful substances so that they ripen faster. When buying watermelons at the market, you need to learn some rules.
The presence of a large amount of nitrates is indicated by:
- uneven color of the pulp;
- the presence of cracks and yellowish fibers on the cut;
- Uneven seed color.
If a juicy piece of fruit is placed in a glass of water and the solution becomes cloudy, you can safely purchase it for consumption; It is better to discard watermelon if the liquid has acquired a reddish tint.
To determine whether a berry is ripe, it is not necessary to taste the fruit, just look carefully at the pulp.
If it has a pink tint and a porous structure, it means that the fruit is already ripe and has acquired a sugar content.The red color of the insides of a watermelon indicates that the berry contains a lot of nitrates or is overripe, and such a product is unsuitable for consumption by either children or adults.
How not to determine ripeness
Some methods used to find out whether a watermelon can be cut from a garden bed are not always effective. It is impossible to accurately determine whether the fruit is ripe by the average ripening period of the variety, because melons always react to the weather. If the days are cool, it rains, the harvest time is delayed, and it is not a fact that the fruits will become sweet.
The development of melon crops is influenced by the characteristics of the soil on which it grows.
It is impossible to say for sure that a watermelon is ripe if its tail is dry. This often happens in extreme heat and in the absence of moisture in the ground. To understand what sound occurs when knocking, whether a cracking sound appears when you press on the peel, you need to hear very well. It is difficult to determine its ripeness by the weight and diameter of the fruit. Such parameters rarely correspond to annotations and specially designed tables.
If a gardener has been growing the same variety of sweet berries for a long time, based on its size, he can begin harvesting. Such methods give the correct result only in half of the cases. Many people say that “girl” watermelons with a dense, large spot are more tasty, but “boys”, if chosen well, also delight with sweetness and juiciness.
