the thump trumps all though - regardless of the tendril's condition and
regardless of the color of the underside of the melon, if it passes the
thump test it's almost always ripe.

"TQ" wrote in message
...
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"brickled" wrote in message
hlink.net...
i've been growing melons for a # of years now and i've found the "watch
for
the tendril to dry up" and "watch for the underside to turn a cream color"
the least reliable methods of all, especially on the sugar baby variety.
i've actually read in many places on the web that what little value
watching
the underside holds doesn't apply to this variety, due to its dark color.

the one method i have found to be reliable across all varieties i've grown
is the "thump test."


Which is why I included the word 'AND' in the three conditions. No one
condition indicates ready-to-pickness.

"Sugar Babies are ready when the bottoms are yellow, the curly-q near the
stem is brown, and they have a nice thump when tapped."

--
TQ