Farmall Cub

I talked with an oldtimer today about how to tell if a melon is ripe i have always used the thumping method and the dead curl on the stem he said to lay a piece of broomstraw crossways on the melon if it turned straight the melon was ripe i told him i thought he was trying to pull one on me but insisted it was true my melons are not ripe yet so i haven't tried it anyone ever heard of this.

Jim

Never heard of that one before!----kinda like the ole' forked stick telling you where to drill water well, I guess!--LOL! thanks; sonny

Jim ! I have a patch of Watermelons. I'm going to give it a try

I went by the pig tale dead and dried up, worked fine for me and my jubilees.

Grew some dandy melons this year!

If'n I knew the picture thing good enough I'd post a pic of one of my 30+ lb jubilees

WnYF

My Aunt Dot taught me that trick a few years ago and it does work. She loved watermelons and carried a broom straw with her. Has to be the old type not anything synthetic. Grump

That is some good information. Thanks. I am going to try it.

my mellons are doing great I grew the round type, cant remember the name off the top of my head. I also grew cantalopes too. this has been a good year for both of them. wonder how the straw would work on a round one

The straw works on round ones also. Put it on opposite the stem.

roll it over and drag your fingernail across it if the skin peels up EZ it is ripe

This is the first year that the pig tail method hasn't worked for me. The pig tail was dead as a door nail and cut one of the melons and it was green as a gourd. I had to wait for another two weeks for the melons to get good and ripe. I had good luck with my Charleston Greys and Black Diamonds, but the Jubalees didn't fare so well.

I have heard of the straw method Jim.

White n Yella Fella wrote:I went by the pig tale dead and dried up, worked fine for me and my jubilees.

Grew some dandy melons this year!

If'n I knew the picture thing good enough I'd post a pic of one of my 30+ lb jubilees

WnYF

Here is a pic of a jubilee that I grew last year along with my Grandsons. It weighed in a 54 lbs.

I don't have a picture but i have one that weighed 76lbs.

Jim

Jim Reid wrote:I don't have a picture but i have one that weighed 76lbs.

Jim

Now just hold on there Jim, we're talkin water melons here not punkins ...
Can you store that big ole thing until Bosses one day event in October ?
I'd like to see that one up close with a knife and a salt shaker...

Right on, Yogie! That in itself would be reason enough to drive back to Virginnie.

Georgia Boy wrote:

White n Yella Fella wrote:I went by the pig tale dead and dried up, worked fine for me and my jubilees.

Grew some dandy melons this year!

If'n I knew the picture thing good enough I'd post a pic of one of my 30+ lb jubilees

WnYF

Here is a pic of a jubilee that I grew last year along with my Grandsons. It weighed in a 54 lbs.

now thats a mellon wow