Image Credit:
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Citrullus lanatus
Grown as
Toxicity
Sun Exposure
Water Needs
Height
Spread
Soil pH
Bloom Time
Flower Color
Special Features
Resilience
Plant Type
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!
- 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
- ‘Golden Midget’: 70 days to maturity. Bears petite, yellow-skinned, 3-pound melons with pink flesh. Good for northern gardeners.
- ‘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.
Comments
I WAS WANDERING IF I COULD TAKE SOME CUT UP WATERMELON IN A FREEZER BAG AND FREEZE IT IN THE FREEZER?
How long is a watermelon good. Should it be
refrigerated. My husband says it is alright to eat even after ten days.
Yes, watermelon in the refrigerator should last about 2 weeks.
The question was freezer not refrigerator. No it will not keep in freezers well. When thawing a frozen watermelon the pulp becomes puffy in texture. The flavor changes as well. It is still eatable yet, stranger to the melon I want to eat.
Current temperatures in my area are reaching 105 degrees and I have 6 beautifully growing watermelon plants in plastic garden trays. Is it to hot to transplant them??
Try to transplant when it's the coolest part of the day (evening) or when the skies are overcast. Water in well. Give the plants some temporary shade from the hot afternoon Sun on the first few days.
I stayed in Delta State I am interested in growing watermelon but don't know if it will germinate and produce well
I tried growing watermelons this year and followed the instructions for my area. I transplanted the healthy happy starts into black 3 gallon growing bags, kept in a hothouse/greenhouse. They got bigger for about a month and then all of a sudden got wilty. They have all died now and I am trying to figure out why they died. I didn't change anything and there are not insect infestations. Also there is a fan keeping the air circulated. Please help!
Not sure where you got the plastic bag idea as a container for watermelon ... Watermelon are extremely deep-rooted plants and they like well-draining soil. Neither of those conditions would occur in a bag. The bag would effectively stunt the roots and would definitely hold water. (Depending on how you positioned the bags, even if they had drainage holes in them they might retain puddles.)
Here's some more advice. (It's from Arkansas, but it's watermelon growing basics so should apply if you are in Alaska): https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-6012.pdf
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- …
- 10
- Next »
📣The Gardening Club Just Got Better! 3 Deliveries, 10% Store Discount, and more!
Great question, Booker! The melon will benefit from the shade of its leaves. Too much direct sun will cause sunscald, or sunburn, on the fruit. This kills rind cells and results in sunburnt pots. So leave the leaves alone! And thanks for asking.