A. A cantaloupe is ready to harvest when the stem easily separates from the fruit. To avoid over-ripening, harvest cantaloupes before they naturally separate from the vine. Check maturity of cantaloupe by placing your thumb beside the stem and gently applying pressure to the side. If the stem separates easily, the cantaloupe is ripe. A. Cantaloupes develop a netting on the outside while honeydew melons are smooth.
Honeydew melons are closely related to cantaloupe but ripen later.
Most honeydew melons are have white or green flesh and mature within 100 to 120 days after planting. Honeydew melons do not slip from the vine as cantaloupes do and are mature when they become creamy to golden yellow in color and the blossom-end softens slightly. The foliage of my cantaloupes is covered by brown, dead spots which fall out giving the foliage a very tattered appearance. The stems near the crown of my cantaloupes are splitting, and an amber-colored ooze is forming around these cuts. Soon after this happens, the plants wilt and die.