Wayne, Disease is always a problem and wilt is a problem I deal with each year. I lost 6 plants under the netting due to wilt, it seem to went straight across in a line down the middle. I also lost one of my Stone mountains. I am completly Organic and I choose not to spray anything even organic sprays. Mainly I choose this approach because I don't have the time to spend worrying about each problem that arises and spending time and money trying to battle it. Instead I choose cultural practices to minimize the effects of insects , birds, deer ,rabbits, coons, squirrels and ever bacterial, fungal and viral microbes out they that want the vegetables and flowers of my garden. I have found the more I learn to let nature take its course and creat a garden inviting to beneficial insects and keeping the ground covered at all timeswith the use of mulches, cover crops, and employing tactics to ward off critters, including vigilant trapping of some pest such as squirrels the garden takes care of it self and I have more time to enjoy my garden and I feel a lot better about the produce I eat and raise. But wilt is probably my worst problem with melons and roatation is the key. I too have grown melons for years but not as long as you have especially in this garden spot. Hopefully I can continue to get a sweet summer melon for my troubles. Frank if referring to the Missouri yellow meated it is a big melon the one pictured is probable 35lbs I picked one the other day and that 's what it weighed. It was devine juicy and sweet. This was the first year growing it. Rodger

tomatozilla: Like fruitnut, I also depend primarily on the brown tendril method, backed up by the yellow bottom method. But I mean really brown, dried up tendril. I agree that you jumped the gun with your yellow doll. Read the seed packet when you plant. It will usually give the days to harvest (I think yellow doll is about 75-80), and when you approach the indicated number that is the time to begin checking for the indicators. Stem slippage is for cantaloupes, which is quite a different melon. I recently learned stem slippage doesn't even work for honeydew melons. But I don't grow honeydews. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Glad it worked out for you and thanks for running out to your garden to check those spoon leafs. It sounds like they may not always necessarily be the best indicator of ripeness. The only thing that is keeping me from picking it right now is that the DTM is supposed to be 90-95 days. I put the plants in the ground at the beginning of May so that would only be 75 (give or take a few) days in the ground. I started them in the house 3 weeks before I planted them outside. That doesn't count for that much though does it? Last year I had one watermelon ripe the third week in July but it was an earlier variety (White Sugar Lump). The one I am debating picking is Moon And Stars Yellow Fleshed. I think I am going to leave it on the vine a bit longer.

This is a very common question and often discussed here. Check out some of these previous discussions for more details. They should answer all your questions. When to pick watermelon discussions Dave