Margaret Murphy
Horticulture Educator for Chippewa, Dunn, & Eau Claire Counties
UW-Madison Extension

Harvesting the Fruits of Your Labor

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of summertime picnics in the backyard with my family. Good food, good laughs and, come August, lots of watermelon. It was just the right treat at the end of a hot summer’s day.

Melons belong to the cucurbit family, which includes squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. Recently, I was asked by a gardener new to growing melons how you can tell when they are ripe. Picking a melon at its peak flavor relies on harvesting at the right stage of maturity. For watermelon, some gardeners use the old “thumping” technique. They thump or tap the melon. If a hollow or dull sound is heard, then the melon is considered ready. However, not the most dependable method to test for ripeness. A more reliable way to determine proper harvest time is when the underside or “ground spot” turns from a greenish white to a yellowish or cream color. Ripe watermelons also tend to lose their glossy look and take on a dull appearance. Plus, watch for the tendrils nearest the melon to curl and turn brown.

Muskmelon is ready to eat when the stem slips easily away from the fruit. It should pull off with little or no effort. Also look at the muskmelon’s appearance. The netlike skin becomes rough-textured and the skin between the netting turns light tan to yellow in color. You should also be able to smell that muskmelon aroma from the fruit.

If you grow honeydew, knowing when to pick the fruit is a little more difficult. Unlike muskmelon, honeydew fruit does not slip off the vine when mature. Instead, look for changes such as the tendrils near the stem of the fruit becoming brown and dry, the blossom end of the fruit feeling slightly soft and a subtle change in the color of the melon’s skin.

Other vegetables that gardeners are harvesting now include sweet corn, peppers and tomatoes. Sweet corn is ready to harvest at the “milky” stage. This refers to kernels that when pierced with a thumb nail produce a milky juice. At this stage, the silks are usually brown and dry at the tip of the ear. The milk stage typically occurs about 15 to 24 days after the silk appears. However, timing of this will vary depending on weather conditions. Weather will also affect how long sweet corn remains at its peak for harvest.

Peppers can be harvested when they are mature or in the immature green stage. If allowed to ripen on the plant, their color will turn from green to red, or depending on the variety, yellow, orange, purple or even brown. Pick peppers when they reach a desirable size. Bell peppers are often picked while still green and unripe.

Allow tomatoes to fully ripen on the vine for the best flavor. With most types of tomatoes, the fruit will come off the plant easily when its mature. Fruit picked before peak ripeness can be ripened indoors when kept at room temperature. Tomato color at maturity will vary by cultivar.

For more information on harvesting garden produce, see Harvesting Vegetables from the Home Garden at https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/harvesting-vegetables-home-garden/ or view Harvesting and storing home garden vegetables at https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/harvesting-and-storing-home-garden-vegetables.

Happy harvesting!