As I mentioned in the page on planting, make sure you thin your plants down to 2-3 per hill. When the plants are developing, I try to keep the area around them tilled. As they spread though, all you can do (and all you need to do) is to pull any larger weeds so the plants get good sunlight.
One of the most challenging things with watermelons is knowing when to pick them. When I was growing up, I was told to thump them and listen to the sound. A deep hollow sound meant the watermelon was ripe. Well, I’ve thumped ones I knew were not ripe, and they sound remarkably like ripe ones. I think watermelon thumping is a lot like a snipe hunt. Our ancestors may be looking down on us and laughing hysterically at people thumping watermelons. But there are ways to tell when your melon is ripe, although I won’t call it an exact science. One way is to look at the bottom of the watermelon. If it is still white, the melon is not ripe. If it is a creamy yellow, it probably is ripe. The good thing about this test is you can even use it on watermelons at your local farmer’s markets or the grocery store. I always do this test, but the most reliable test for me is to look at the nearest tendril to the watermelon. This tendril is just a few inches long and is very curly at the end. As long as it is green or even yellow, your melon is not ripe. When the watermelon is ripe, this tendril will be completely dried up. Here’s an example of one with a green tendril.
Here’s an example of a tendril I removed from the plant showing what it looks like when dried up, signaling the watermelon is ripe – it was hard to see in the field.
