# Avoiding crushed dreams in salad (and selection for EARLIEST) **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** selection, plant-breeding\ **Created:** [July 6, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/avoiding-crushed-dreams-in-salad-and-selection-for-earliest/2685 "2024-07-06T19:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 28
**Author:** ![VeggieSavage](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/veggiesavage/32/3383_2.png) [@VeggieSavage](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/VeggieSavage)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 10:54am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/avoiding-crushed-dreams-in-salad-and-selection-for-earliest/2685/28 "2024-08-22T10:54:19Z")
> [@Lauren](#): > > I know from my own experience that watermelons have the ability to stress-ripen, and given bad conditions they will cannibalize most of their seeds in order to bring a few to full viability. Absolutely incredible! Very interesting, first time hearing this about seed cannibalization so that a few may survive! Do other Gourd crops like melons & Squash do the same? Of course it depends on how unripe you pick it. I just rememebr how @UnicornEmily picked a Zuccinni x Spagehtti Squash hybrid Green (After 2 weeks on vine) and it managed to ripen fully off vine after a long time. > [@Call me a Rebel--spaghetti squash / zucchini crosses](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/call-me-a-rebel-spaghetti-squash-zucchini-crosses/78/18): > > Update on the spaghetti zucchinis! I’ve now opened four of them. They’ve all tasted good, although my favorite was the second one. I’m saving at least 20 seeds of each fruit for myself, and setting the rest aside for sharing (and/or wildly oversowing to test for drought tolerance). There are nine left in my closet. Still no signs of any spoilage, and they’ve been sitting there for over four months. There are another fifteen on shelves on my hallway bookcases, which I harvested about three … > [@Lauren](#): > > Some varieties also seem to grow hermaphrodite flowers under stress. I’ve seen this, I thought it was dependent on the genetics of the particular variety, perhaps the stress determines how much the hermaphrodite flowers trait gets expressed? Surely there are some cultivars that no mater how much stress you give them, simply refuse to make hermaphrodite flowers. I think this right here was what you meant? ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/landracegardening/original/2X/c/c2bdd713ca635e8347b9266f72737f8c777fae53.jpeg) ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/landracegardening/original/2X/0/040431db05d69077be4d7ff073c1f65630cedb1d.jpeg) It appears they can also be bisexual which is different from Hermaphrodite flowers. I think this would be a useful trait for those times when you only have female flowers but no males & vice versa. Would it make controlled crosses more difficult tho? > [@Lauren](#): > > I think the problem comes in both defining “ripe” and not being able to gauge ripeness without breaking open the melon. I wonder about those varieties that turn gold at full ripeness. Maybe they could be used for a test. Time to determine what ripe is! Without breaking the watermelon. Some varieites actually snap open when slightly touched to let you know it’s ripe (Which kind of defeats the point 🤣). Those Golden Varieites are easy, but is every golden variety like this? What about the moon & stars cultivar, is it ripe when it gets the “Moon & Stars” on it’s skin or no? I’ve also heard both tendrils have to be withered brown, the skin a bit dull & if grown on soil, the belly spot yellow with even dark sugar spots. I’ve noticed the the sound trick is pointless, I once picked a very hallow sounding watermelon it was unripe. Is the peduncle a good trait to determine ripeness? I know some muskmelons have the peduncle slip off when ripe, does watermelon do that too? is there a problem picking it over-ripe? --- _[View the full topic](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/avoiding-crushed-dreams-in-salad-and-selection-for-earliest/2685)._