No, watermelons don’t ripen off the vine. You need to let and wait for the watermelons to ripen before getting and harvesting them.
When you harvest watermelons too early they will not taste great. They are not sweet and you will not enjoy consuming them.
The watermelons take time to grow, mature, and ripen. The fruits will taste sweet if they are fully ripe and juicy.
Why is harvesting watermelons when they are still unripe is not a good idea?
The watermelon is different compared to other fruits like bananas because watermelons don’t ripen when harvested too early.
Bananas get ripe when harvested unripe because they have ethylene which makes them ripe. Watermelons don’t have ethylene content which means that they should be let ripen on the vine before harvesting.
The flesh of the watermelon fruit is probably colored white if they are unripe instead of red (which is commonly the color of a ripe watermelon).
You will just waste those watermelons if you pick them unripe. Even if you eat them you will not enjoy the taste because they are not sweet and probably just throw them away in the bin.
Let those watermelons mature and ripen on the vine to enjoy the sweet and juicy watermelons. Patience is the key to harvest delicious watermelons from your garden.
How long will you wait for those watermelons on the vine before picking them?
There are many varieties of watermelon and some of them can be harvested earlier while some varieties take much longer to harvest.
The length of time for those watermelons to wait on the vine will depend on the kind of watermelon you have.
It will range from 75 to 100 days to grow watermelons from seed and harvest. The watermelon plant will slowly grow and become mature as days pass by and will grow flowers which will turn into watermelons after.
Factors like weather, how the plants are cared for, pests, and diseases may also affect the speed of watermelon growth.
Do watermelons have to ripen on the vine?
Yes, watermelons need to ripen on the vine before harvesting because when they are harvested unripe they will not continue ripening.
There are many benefits to waiting for watermelons to ripen before picking like the fruits taste sweeter. Ripe watermelons taste sweet because the build-up of sugar in the fruit is maximized.
The fruits take time to mature and during that time the watermelons get sweeter. You will notice the difference between unripe vs ripe watermelons, especially in terms of taste.
Ripe watermelons are also juicy. There’s more water inside the fruit when they are ripe than in those that are not. It’s enjoyable to consume watermelons that have lots of water and will make you hydrated.
Unripe watermelons don’t have much water and they will be a little bit hard which will make them not able to produce much juice.
Watermelons also become bigger when ripe. Unripe watermelons are smaller but once they become mature they become bigger. You can consume more watermelons if they are bigger compared to those smaller sized fruits.
There are also more vitamins and minerals when watermelons get ripe so wait until they ripen before harvesting. Vitamins and minerals are good for the health and you will get more of them from ripe fruits.
Because of those things, it is necessary to wait for the watermelons to ripen. Commonly unripe watermelons are not consumable and it’s better to wait for them until they mature than picking them too early.
Some of the signs that watermelons are ripe and can be picked off from the vine.
The curly tendrils are brown and dry. There are tendrils on the base of the fruit and if the tendrils are brown and dry, it can tell that they are nearly ripe or totally ripe.
The watermelons also produce hollow sounds when tapped. Many gardeners tap their watermelons to know if they are ripe or not. You will hear the hollow sound when you tap the fruit when they are ripe.
Another thing is when watermelons are getting heavy it is one sign that the watermelons are ripe. Try to lift the watermelons a few times just a bit and try to analyze if they are heavy or not.
Also, the green color of the fruits becomes dull and the stripes are getting darker. There are stripes on the skin of the watermelon and it can tell you if they are ready to be picked.
Another thing is the rind of the fruit is getting thicker. The rind is the skin that protects that fruit. It is the cover and they become thicker as days pass by until they ripen.
Do watermelons ripen after picking?
No watermelons don’t ripen after picking. The watermelons should ripen on the vines before they are harvested. When the watermelons are harvested too early they will not get ripe and you will get not delicious fruits.
