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Botanical Name
Citrullus lanatus
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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Watermelons
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Planting
When to Plant Watermelons
- In cool climates with short growing seasons, start seeds indoors 2 to 3 weeks before your last frost date. Plan to transplant seedlings into the garden about 2 weeks after that date or when the soil has warmed to at least 65°F (18°C).
- In warmer climates with long growing seasons, sow seeds directly outdoors 1 to 2 weeks after your last frost date, as long as the soil temperature has warmed to at least 65°F (18°C).
- Young watermelon plants can also be bought from nurseries. Plant these after there is no longer a chance of frost; they are very tender. Watch the local forecast and err on the side of caution! Consider laying black plastic over your planting area to warm the soil even more.
- Tip: Starting with young plants can result in an earlier harvest (usually up to 2 weeks earlier), so consider buying young plants, particularly if you live in a cooler climate.
Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site
- Amend soil with aged manure, seaweed, and/or compost before planting. Watermelons are heavy feeders, meaning they need soil that is fertile and has a high nutrient level. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
- Watermelons do best in loamy, somewhat sandy, well-drained soil. They can struggle in soil that contains too much clay and doesn’t drain well.
- Watermelons prefer a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.5 (“slightly acidic to neutral”).
- Watermelons need A LOT of space—up to 20 square feet per plant. Their vines need room to sprawl, so plant them in a place where they won’t crowd out other crops.
- Growing the vines in raised rows, known as hills, ensures good drainage and will hold the sun’s heat longer.
- Plan to space the plants 2-3 feet apart in a 5-foot-wide hill.
- If you’re growing in traditional rows, space them at least 6 feet apart.
How to Plant Watermelons
- Sow seeds 1/2 to 1 inch deep outdoors or 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in seed-starting pots indoors.
- Tip: To allow for more root growth, use larger starting pots than you would for most seeds. Also, consider using compostable pots that can be cut away or planted directly in the garden, as this will minimize the risk of damaging seedlings’ tender roots during transplanting.
- If direct seeding outdoors, sow 4 to 6 seeds per hill, eventually thinning to 2 to 3 seedlings.
Transplanting Seedlings
- Handle watermelon seedlings with extreme care when you transplant. Their roots are very fragile, so try not to disturb the soil when removing them from pots.
- After transplanting, cover the plants with row covers to keep pests at bay. Remember to remove the row covers when you see both male and female flowers on the vine, as pollinators will need to access the flowers.
- Find even more tips for planting melons in your home garden.
Growing
Watering Watermelons
- Watering is very important—from planting until fruit begins to form. While melon plants are growing, blooming, and setting fruit, they need 1 to 2 inches of water per week.
- Keep soil moist but not waterlogged. Water at the vine’s base in the morning, and try to avoid wetting the leaves and avoid overhead watering. Reduce watering once fruit is growing. Dry weather produces the sweetest melon.
Fertilizing
- If you choose to fertilize (and many do), make sure it delivers more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium, as this will encourage leaf and vine growth. However, after flowering begins, use a fertilizer with less nitrogen to instead encourage flowers and fruit. We like to use a seaweed-based fertilizer.
Flowering and Fruiting
- Vines produce male and female flowers separately on the same plant. They often begin producing male flowers several weeks before the females appear. Do not be concerned if the male flowers fall off. The female flowers (which have a swollen bulb at the base) will stay on the vine and bear fruit.
- Blossoms require pollination to set fruit, so be kind to the bees! Learn how to support pollinators in your garden.
- As the fruit is ripening, prevent rotting by gently lifting it and putting cardboard or straw between the fruit and the soil.
General Watermelon Care Tips
- Mulching with black plastic or straw around the plants will serve multiple purposes: it will warm the soil, hinder weed growth, and keep developing fruits off the soil.
- Pruning generally isn’t necessary for watermelon plants, but vine productivity may be improved if you do not allow lateral (side) vines to grow and stick to the main vine. When the plant is young, just cut off the end buds as they form (before the side shoots become vines). You can also pinch off some blossoms to focus the energy on fewer melons (though it’s challenging to kill off a potential fruit).
Types
- ‘Sugar Baby’: 80 days to maturity. Produces 10-pound melons with bright red flesh. This variety of smaller fruit can be planted just 4 feet apart.
- ‘Sweet Beauty’: 80 days to maturity. A 2004 All-America Selection. Bears 6-pound, oblong melons with red flesh.
- ‘Golden Midget’: 70 days to maturity. Bears petite, yellow-skinned 3-pound melons with pink flesh. Good for Northern gardeners.
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Hello,
What is the temperature in the greenhouse?
We planted seeds in April in an old bathtub in specialized vegetable soil, and the vines started coming up in the next couple of months.
You WILL need plenty of space because the vines get very long.
We also tried transplanting some of the vines and those died very quickly because they weren't watered as often, so they dried up.
We had a VERY hot summer so we had to water twice a day.
So, Miracle-Gro or fertilized soil, Plenty of sunlight, warm temperature, and water once a day. DO NOT over-water, too much and the vines will drown.
After the peak of harvest, we had some vines sprout in the soil patch of an old chicken coop. We had fed them some rinds and they digested the seeds!
Good luck. I am also looking to try a greenhouse for watermelon. Let me know the results!
I'm growing watermelons for the first time and i think i'm doing o.k. After so many weeks i finally got my first watermelon fruit growing. As it's growing bigger i'm starting to wonder if i actually did do o.k because it's growing like the shape of a pear. What does that mean?
Usually, an odd melon shape is related to poor pollination which can happen because of weather conditions, lack of bees, or too little pollination. You can always try pollinating by hand by using a Q-tip to transfer pollen from the male to female flower.
Thanks alot for the tips.Iam anew farmer and planted my watermelon this season,I didn't know anything about watermelon growing but just planted as a test.
It is mid September and my watermelon are not ripe yet? It is starting to get cool and I am worried that my babies might go bad before they ripen. They are in great sun and morning temps are in 60's for now. When should I get worried?
Watermelons require a longer growing season with constant warm temperatures--which is why the plant favors the southern regions and can be a challenge to grow in northern regions. At this point, you can try to cut back any leaves that block the sun and stop providing water to speed up the ripening process. However, the day length is shortening as we near the autumnal equinox and nature is taking its course.
If you try again next year, you've gained some learning. Consider using transplants and selecting early varieties with short growing seasons. Mulch with black plastic film to warm the soil. Use floating row covers to protect from cooler temps.
I mistakenly cut the vine of my watermelon. Is there any chance I can get the vine to stay alive until the melon ripens? If so, what should I do?
Did you completely cut the main vine? If so, there's not much you can do. The watermelon can no longer receive the nourishment and water and will stop growing. If it's just a slit, then you could try some pine tree gum and duct tape!
Yes, unfortunately it's all the way through. I figured there wouldn't be anything I could do. Thank you very much for replying. I'll be much more careful in the future. :)
My watermelons are getting big, about the size of a cantaloupe, but none have stripes. I think I have 'Sugar Baby' watermelons. Does that variety get stripes?
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