Ripening times depend on the variety and how healthy the plants are and if there is a 2nd setting coming on. Most of the first flush of melons ripen fairly soon together.

First you watch them and note when a melon stops growing. Then you check the tendril adjacent to the melon stem. It needs to have dried up for a few days. Next notice a bit of fading in the color of the outside of the melon. Next, thump the melon. A pllink sound means an immature melon. A deeper sound means a riper melon. Also gently squeeze the melon. If spongy, it is over-ripe. If rock hard, it likely is not ripe. Next gently look at the bottom of the melon. It should have been white...then lightly creamy, and then more creamy.

Small varieties of melons may not turn colors on the bottom so reliably nor plink/plunk as resoundingly.

Here is the FAQ on this question with several tips

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2766005/harvesting-melons-how-do-you-know-when-a-melon-is-ripe

and the search pulls up over 5000 discussions on "when to pick watermelon". Check out this good one with pics from a couple weeks ago.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4687570/sugar-baby-watermelon-ripeness?n=19

Dave

So I started indoors May 1, and planted out May 20. They are 81 and 82 DTM varieties. They didn't miss a beat when I transplanted them. So next week would be the 82 day mark if I go off sowing date...

Does the "bloom" on the melon typically disappear when ripe?

A little bit...depending some on how sunny the melon's spot.

Per the description from Johnny's:

"At 6-8 lb., Sorbet is a great size for farmers' markets and CSAs. Firm, crisp, bright red flesh has excellent flavor and sweetness. Dark green with dark green stripes, these melons are almost round, avg. 7 x 7". Avg. 2-3 fruits/plant"

So here is is one of mine, but on my 2 Sorbet plants, I have about 7 melons total at this size. The tendril is "firm" but not shriveled looking. This melon is right about 7", but feel a bit lighter than 6 pounds. I have seven at this size.

It seems like the size of all of these melons has been stable the last week or so, before that they were growing noticeably. So I think I'm getting close.

I did have one variety, ONCE, that was fully ripe when the tendril turned brown, but other varieties need more. It is far better to have a melon fully ripe than an unripe one.

That tendril, if it is the one closest to the melon still has a long way to go before it will signal ripe. I'd estimate 7-10 days based on picture. But sometimes the only way to convince yourself is to harvest one and cut it open. That makes one a believer real quickly.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I was actually thinking around 7/30 as a good target date as of now.

That is the tendril directly across from the melon stem, yes.

"across from the stem". What does that mean. It's the tendril hooked to the vine at the stem or an inch or 2 from the stem.

Wayne, it's the closest one. The way it's positioned, it appears to be growing directly across the main vine from where the melon is attached. As in, coming out the other side of the node.

I think dtm is an important consideration but I count dtm from the date they are planted in the ground, not from the date I started the seeds. If other signs of ripeness are there as well then I pick it. The tendril in the picture is definitely not dead yet. I currently have an Alibaba with a completely dead tendril that it at least 2 weeks away from being ready when considering dtm so I won't be picking it yet.

One of my Amarillos has doubled in size since the last time I saw it, it's now almost a foot in diameter. So it has a while.

So all the melons appear to have stopped growing in size. Some "seem" heavier. Tendrils all still green...will these ever ripen?

Yes, have patience. They should probably ripen sometime in August IME.

With the cool weather forecast, it might take even longer.