The heat of a South Carolina summer is perfect for the watermelons that are thriving in my garden right now. I know when the heat of the day pushes me inside I can always count of the cool and refreshing taste of a homegrown watermelon to cool me down.
For years, I struggled with picking them too early or too late. I could never find the right signs to know if they were at their peak and picked many too soon. After growing them for a few years now, I can spot when they are just right to pick. Watermelons do not continue to ripen once they are picked so I quickly learned how to read a watermelon.
For homegrown watermelons, I look for these three signs on how to pick the perfect watermelon:
- Tap lightly on the side of the melon and listen for a dull thump.
- Pick the melon up and look at the underside, it should be turning yellow if it is ripe.
- Look closely at the dying or shriveling stem near the base of the melon. If it is ripe, the stem will be brown and dead. (see photo below)
We often get chased inside from the burning heat of our South Carolina summers by early afternoon. On those days, nothing tastes as good as this fresh Watermelon Salsa on corn chips with a big glass of iced tea. Yum!
- 3 cups seeded, chopped watermelon
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno peppers
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of one hour. Serve with corn chips.
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Home grown watermelon is the best! We always picked based on the stem dry up and it worked. Sweet watermelon on ice is a wonderful treat.
Love this valuable hint! Next year I’ll be growing my own watermelon, so this will come in very handy! Thanks!
Great tips! Melons are always a little hard for me to pick too. If they are good, they are gooooood. If they aren’t perfect is is always so disappointing!
Nothing is worse than cutting into a watermelon that is not ripe yet. There is nothing you can do but feed them to the chickens and sometimes they won’t even eat it.
Believe it or not, I actually had no idea how to tell if a watermelon was ripe or not. These were some very helpful tips!
Visiting from Coffee & Conversation 🙂
I always seem to pick the wrong watermelons at the grocery store, thanks for the tip! We need them 😉
Thank you for sharing with these helpful tips! Pinning it!
Thanks for the tips, salsa looks good
I discovered the secret of the dying curley Q to identify ripe watermelons a few years ago! Love that God gave us a sign that “it is finished” even for watermelons!
Me too!
Good to know! Thanks for this tip!
Great tips and recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing this with Roses of Inspiration. I always struggle when picking out a watermelon so this was just the post I needed 🙂 Hugs!
A rite of summer is picking the best melon! Thanks for joining Home Sweet Home!
Mmmm, this salsa recipe sounds like just what we need down here in hot Florida! Thanks for joining us at #FridayFrivolity this week!
Wonderful recipe which I’ll pin. Watermellon does’t last long enough to make salsa out of it at my house. LOL. Saw you at the No Rules Party, where my post, Exercise Improves Mind Body Health appears. Have a fun weekend. Nancy A @ obloggernewbie.blogspot.com