Watermelon Moon & Stars

Name comes from little yellow dots which form like stars over the dark green skin interspersed with larger 50 cent size round moons. Yellow speckling occurs also on the leaves so do not despair of some disease attack. Fruits grow to 6-10kg with reddish pink, juicy and sweet flesh.

There are several key indicators that will give you a pretty good idea of ripeness.

1.      Ground Spot – The underside of the watermelon where the fruits rests on the ground is known as the “ground spot”. This spot should turn from a creamy/white colour to a nice buttery yellow when the melon is mature. The colour should be a deep yellow not a creamy yellow. (Note: this is different to the yellow blotches on the skin characteristic of this variety)

2.      Tendril – the tendril on the vine directly opposite where the fruit stem joins the vine is a good indicator of ripeness. If the tendril is green the melon is not ripe. If the tendril is withered, dried and brown the melon is mature.

Patches of webbing on fruit and a hollow sound when tapping fruit are thought by some to be other indicators of fruit ripeness.