How to Tell When a Watermelon is Ready for Harvest

Farmers ask this question all the time:

How do I know whether my watermelon is ready for harvest?

Based on my experience growing watermelon, there are 6 ways to know your watermelon is ready.

Appearance of your watermelon: immature watermelon fruits usually have a bright glossy green color. As they mature, they become paler and the part that is touching the soil becomes brown.
Number of days from planting date: depending on the variety, from the date of planting watermelon typically takes 85-105 days to mature. Therefore, if your watermelon has attained this age, it is ready for harvest.
Sound test. Experienced watermelon farmers use their hand to tap the base of the watermelon fruit. Mature watermelon has a distinct metallic sound. Immature watermelon produces a dull sound.
The color of the fruit stalk. A mature watermelon should have a brown fruit stalk. This indicates that the fruit is already done growing, and does not need any more water or nutrition from the mother plant.
Brix test. This is a sweetness test. How it works is that once a watermelon is fully mature, it will attain its maximum sweetness. As it ages, it’s sweetness reduces until it finally rots. Washington State University, conducted a watermelon brix test at Mount Vernon and Vancouver. Follow the link for the results.
Taste and color Test: this is the ultimate way of knowing if your watermelon is ready for harvest. All you need to do is pick a few fruits randomly from your farm. Cut through them. A mature watermelon should have deep red flesh with no white patches, and should be juicy and have a sweet taste. If you cut through some fruits and you find that within the fruit there are some white patches, you may have to wait for some few days before you try again.