09/02/2026
🍉 How do we know when a watermelon is actually ready to pick?
Growing watermelons requires one very important skill around here: waiting. 😂
First, you wait for the vines to grow.
Then you wait for the first tiny baby watermelons to appear.
Then you wait some more while they soak up lots of heat, sunshine and plenty of water.
And then…you wait some more.
Eventually, you start finding BIG watermelons hiding underneath all those leaves! 🍉
And that’s when the fun begins — carefully walking through the vines, trying your best not to step on anything, finding a watermelon hiding under the leaves, and tracing it back to where it connects to the vine.
But here’s the funny part: a big watermelon doesn’t necessarily mean a ripe watermelon.
Instead, there are a few clues we look for:
➰ The tendril
Near where the watermelon connects to the vine, you’ll find one of those little curly tendrils. While the melon is still developing, that tendril stays green.
If it’s still green, we wait.
As the melon gets closer to being ready, that tendril dries up and turns brown. That’s one of our best clues that it’s time to start checking closely.
🍃 The vine and little leaf nearby
We also look at what’s happening around the stem. As the melon matures, some of that nearby growth begins drying back too. It’s another little piece of the puzzle — but we don’t rely on just one clue.
🟡 The field spot underneath
Then comes the part you can’t see until you carefully roll the watermelon over!
The spot where the watermelon has been resting on the ground starts out pale or whitish. As it matures, we’re looking for that spot to become more creamy/yellow.
Brown, dried tendril + a good creamy field spot + the other signs looking right = it’s finally watermelon time! 🍉
And when we can, we like to give ours just a little extra time after that tendril dries before picking.
Then comes one last VERY important step…
😂 If after all that waiting you happen to find a watermelon that weighs in at 26.8 pounds — yep, basically 27 pounds! — don’t forget to take a picture and capture the moment!
Because sometimes growing food is about more than what’s going to the farm stand. Sometimes you just have to stop and appreciate what came from one tiny plant. ❤️
And right now we’re getting to do quite a bit of picking — watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe are all making their way out of the garden for Melon Days at the farm stand! 🍉🍈
📍 KDL Finger Farms
5555 Oak Park Rd.
Marshall, WI 53559
