We have been waiting for this second watermelon for several weeks now! It just kept growing and growing. I’ve been DYING to pick it but have forced myself to be patient. I really didn’t want to make the same mistake as last time and pick it too soon!

I kept looking in my books and online to see when the best time to pick it would be. I kept bugging my Mother-in-Law, asking her if she thought it was ready yet. Everyone told me last time that I should have waited until the stem turned brown… but this stem wasn’t turning brown! I truly was afraid it was rotting on the vine! Surely there was another clue I could go by.

I did find several ways to tell if your watermelon is ripe, though none of them are 100% accurate. Here are signs to look for when deciding when to pick your watermelon:

• The stem turns brown
• The curly tendril at the stem turns brown
• The place on the bottom of the watermelon where it has been laying on the ground  turns white or yellowish
• It has a hollow sound when thumped

My watermelon didn’t have any of these signs, except maybe that the curly tendril was partially brown. But last night, we just couldn’t wait any longer. The thing was Gigantic… surely it was ready!

My husband was saying, “Man, that watermelon out there is huge!” In my moment of weakness I blurted out, “You should go pick it!” He grabbed a knife and was out the door. I stood there for a moment, and a horrific vision of another green watermelon popped into my mind. I went flying out the back door yelling, “Jerry! Wait!” But all I heard was, “Too late.” Here he came walking from the garden heaving a huge watermelon into his arms.

I couldn’t bare to watch him cut into it. I was so glad when I heard Jada yell, “It’s RED!”

As I am writing this, I am enjoying the BEST watermelon I’ve ever eaten! Maybe because I’ve been waiting so long for it, but still, it’s really good! In all honesty, it probably could have waited a few more days, but no big deal.

Did I mention how HUGE this thing was? It weighed over 42 lbs.  We’ll be eating on it for a week!