When to harvest cantaloupe? Cantaloupes are delicious and you can only savor their taste if you harvest them rightly. Once they’ve been picked, they can no longer continue to ripen and you’ll be left with a fruit that’s hard and sour to your taste buds.
Typically, cantaloupes take anytime between 80 – 100 days to ripen after they’ve been planted. So you have to watch out for this harvest window as soon as you are done the planting. This can, however, differ from climate to climate.
The rind of the cantaloupe will appear yellowish or pale yellow away from its greyish-green initial color. You can also observe another indicator by lifting the fruit gently from the soil where the cantaloupe is using as a base and check the area for any color change.
Unripened melon can resist picking because it’s hard but the ripened one is soft and makes harvesting seamless. That’s all the clue you’ll need. Even if it tries to be tricky with disguising in ripened colors, the ease or difficulty in harvesting would give it away and tell if truly it is ripe for harvest.
Another change in the growing cycle of cantaloupes which is indicative of maturity is the slippage of the stem. Once maturity and ripening sets in, the stem will severe bonds with the melon.
Remember it takes about 80-100 days after planting to be matured and ready for harvest. So monitor the harvest window and when it’s about a week to the ideal harvesting time, stop watering your plant. This will help the plant focus on the sugars and produce delicious melons for your consumption.