A watermelon, botanically Citrullus lanatus, is an ideal summer thirst quencher. Since there are now also varieties that you can cultivate on the balcony, nothing stands in the way of growing melons at home. In order for your watermelons to taste really sweet, however, you have to pay attention to the right time when harvesting.
Harvest watermelons
A watermelon takes about four months until she is fully mature. However, this guideline only applies if it can mature under ideal conditions. If you go purely by the calendar, the fruits are usually harvested from the end of August. Depending on the weather, the last watermelons can still ripen by the end of September. After that, the melons in this country are usually no longer ripe because they then lack light and warmth.
time
With Citrullus lanatus it is important to get the right time for harvesting. If the fruits stay on the plant for too long, they become overripe and lose their taste. You can tell when a cantaloupe melon has reached its optimum ripeness by its sweet scent. With a watermelon, on the other hand, you need a bit of finesse. When the right time to harvest has come, however, can be recognized by certain characteristics:
- Tendril on the stem of the melon has dried up
- Melon stalk cracks
- When you knock, you will hear a dull noise
- The melons are a rich dark green color
- the underside of the melons is yellowish and no longer white (for melons lying on the ground)
If all of these traits apply to your watermelon, then it's time to harvest. If the melon plant shows yellow leaves in autumn, then you should definitely harvest the fruits, because in this case they will no longer ripen.
tip: If you harvest the melon too early, it will not taste very sweet.
harvest
While finding the right time to harvest is not that easy, the harvesting process is very simple. The ripe melon is simply cut off with a sharp knife. So that you can store the melons longer, you should cut them off with the stalk.
storage
In principle, watermelons cannot be kept for very long because their water content is much too high. In addition, the structure of the flesh of a watermelon is not particularly suitable for storage. Despite these more difficult conditions, there are ways to store the fruit.
tip: It is particularly important for storage that the skin of the melons is intact. So be extremely careful with the fruit.
A watermelon can be whole unrefrigerated approximately two weeks store when it is not too hot, as this shortens the shelf life considerably. It's best to store whole watermelons in a cool, dark basement. Make sure that the individual melons have enough space and are not squeezed in. If you have already eaten part of the melon, then the remaining part of the fruit is wrapped in cling film and stored in the refrigerator.
tip: A cut watermelon will keep in the fridge for a few days at most.
Freeze
In principle, the fruit can also be frozen. However, their flesh becomes extremely mushy when thawed. That's why you should only choose this variant if you want to puree the pulp after defrosting, for example for a watermelon sorbet or a smoothie.
tip: Watermelons only go in the freezer when they are peeled.