Timing is important when growing cantaloupe. The right amount of water and heat at the right time makes the difference between sweet, juicy melons and less desirable fruit.

When your cantaloupe crop is successful, harvesting melons at peak flavor is the next step to enjoying this summer favorite.

Why Timing Matters for Cantaloupe Harvest

Once cantaloupe is removed from the vine, it is as sweet as it will ever be. It’s not like tomatoes that continue to ripen in a sunny window.

Underripe cantaloupes are hard, crunchy, and lack flavor. Overripe fruits are mushy and sweet to the point of fermentation. They also may have cracked or developed mold, rendering them inedible.

Harvesting the perfect, sweet, fragrant cantaloupe is easy when you see these signs.

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5 Signs Your Cantaloupe Is Ready to Pick

• Separates Easily From Stem: Growers use the term “full slip” to describe how the melon detaches from the vine. Look for small cracks and a slight depression around the stem. A tug on the fruit causes it to part from the stem easily. Full slip is often described as the best way to know a cantaloupe is ready for harvest.
• Fragrance: A perfectly ripe cantaloupe is fragrant with a sweet, honeylike scent.
• Raised Rind: Look for raised ridges on the rind running from stem to blossom end at regular intervals around the melon.
• Color: Rind should be gray or beige and may show some peachy color. A green rind indicates the cantaloupe is not yet ripe.
• Dry Leaves: Dry vine leaves near the stem indicate melons are either ripe or close to being ready.

6 Signs Your Cantaloupe Is Either Overripe or Not Yet Ready

• Stem tightly attached: When you give a tug on the melon, but it remains firmly attached to the stem, it’s not ready to pick.
• Green color: An underripe cantaloupe has a green rind.
• Lacks fragrance: Ripe melons are fragrant. No scent indicates the fruit is immature and not ready for harvest.
• Mushy spots or cracks in rind: Cantaloupe rind should be hard. If it gives when pressed or has mushy, sunken spots or cracks, the fruit is overripe.
• Fermented fragrance: Sugars in overripe fruit start to ferment and have a vinegary or alcoholic odor.
• Mold: Black or greenish mold on the rind or around the stem indicates the melon is overripe and should be discarded.

How to Harvest and Store Cantaloupe

When cantaloupe is ready to harvest, give the fruit a tug to separate it from the stem. The stem end should show a slight depression with a little bit of give when pressed. Cutting fruit from the vine is not recommended. Handle harvested melons gently to avoid bruising.

Store whole, ripe melons in the refrigerator for up to five days. If your cantaloupe isn’t fully ripe, you can keep it at room temperature for several days. It won’t become any sweeter, but it may soften.

Wash the rind before cutting and remove it before refrigerating. Prepared melon keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three or four days.

Cantaloupe can also be cubed, frozen on trays, then packed into plastic bags or containers. It retains flavor for up to six months in the freezer but is best used in drink mixes or as an ingredient in cooked recipes.