If you’re still thumping those melons to see if they’re ripe, here’s a better method

August brings us to the heart of watermelon season. Depending on the year’s growing conditions and how long we avoid frost, watermelon can be harvested from mid-July to mid-October. So, how do you choose a good one?

You may find numerous home solutions for choosing the perfect watermelon by browsing social media pages. You’re likely looking for a sweet, juicy ripe fruit with minimal seeds. But how do you you find the ideal melon without cutting it open or tasting it? And how reliable are those home solutions?

The advice you find on social media may include looking at the webbing of the rind on the melon or even “thumping” a melon to listen for a dull thud. While these practices are valid in certain instances, they vary based on the variety of watermelons you inspect. With more than 300 watermelon varieties grown in the United States, those methods can leave much to be desired.

The most reliable way of inspecting a watermelon for ripeness is by looking at the color of the “ground spot” of the melon, where the webbing and chlorophyll are absent as that part of the fruit is on the ground. The rules of inspection: ground spots of striped melons should be a buttery yellow. Ground spots of green melons should be a deep yellow. And light green melons should have a light-yellow spot. A white ground spot means it’s not ripe yet and likely has little flavor.

If you’re growing your watermelons instead of purchasing them, look at the vine tendrils that attach the berry to the rest of the vine. They should be dried out.

If you know the variety of watermelon you have planted, the days to maturity indicated for that variety will be a good starting point for understanding when your fruit is near ripeness. Many watermelon varieties require around 85 days, or two and a half months, to develop their fruit fully. If you planted in early June, expect an August harvest, with the reminder that temperatures above 95 degrees or below 50 degrees may have slowed development.

Also, watermelon crops depend heavily on pollination, and not all pollination happens at once. This means that your watermelon plants will produce several harvests throughout the season. The best bet for calculating ripeness: You are trying to estimate the days of maturation since the flower was pollinated.

However, if you don’t happen to be watching your garden under a microscope, the tried-and-true ground color spot test is still there.

Anthony Reardon is a horticulture agent with Kansas State University Research and Extension. Need help? Contact the Johnson County Extension gardening hotline at 913-715-7050 or email [email protected].