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 have planted water melons at the Kenyan coast.They're turning yellow before even growing fruits.What can i do to remedy this?
Newbie here. Have started seedlings indoors and done built our raised boxes. Live outside of Houston Texas. We have 4 4x4 boxes, and We did kind of a wrap around box that is 8 ft on left and right and 24 feet in the back but 2 ft wide. Wanting to know best place to plant what where. I am doing watermelon and cantaloupe. was hoping the long 24 ft but 2 feet wide with maybe a trellises on the back would be enough room but doubting myself. Cucumbers I thought would go in its own 4x4 box. And then we also have tomatoes, onions, broccoli, carrots, green beans. I am maybe wanting to do another box of undecided size for strawberries, and maybe blueberries if they grow well here. My boyfriend, wants to get the miracle grow soil, and I want reassurance that is enough fertilizer and whatever is needed to use for soil and I am digging up the ground beneath the boxes to get rocks,grass and roots out. And we are going to use newspaper and cardboard to line in between. Anything you see that I shouldn't do or make any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. :)
I grow using raised square foot gardening methods as well. I use 1 melon per foot. I do clip side vines and try to keep to 2 vines max per plant. I made some adjustments to my beds. My melon beds have an 8 foot tall trellis made with three 2x4s and chicken wire. A cattle panel would work well too. The net fell last year due to weight of the melons. The 2 foot bed will be fine. I wrap my vine up, over, down, then back up again tying the vine gently every few inches for support. A cattle panel would probably allow you to wind the vine in and out, but I used what I had. I get better results with the stronger trellis. I wouldn't go more than 4 feet without a 2x4. We helped our friends put together their square foot garden beds and they bent the cattle panels over from one bed to another in an arch and planted shade loving veggies under it. Works well. Slanting it would help support fruit too. Hope this gives you some ideas.
You can use trellises for the vining melons and the cucumbers. Just be aware that the melons may need extra support when the fruit starts developing. Cucumbers will do well on a trellis. Mix compost and/or aged manure into the soil in the raised beds. Make sure that the soil drains well. During the growing season you can add more compost or use fertilizers for the specific needs of the different veggies and berries. Note that blueberries need acidic soil.
almanac.com/content/raised-garden-beds-how-build has more information about raised bed gardening.
What is the best soil for growing watermelons? I hear sandy type soil, but I never heard anyone mention the names of the soil, and where it can be purchased? Example, can you give me an example of sandy type soil? What other minerals need to be added?
Thanks.
Hi Matt,
- Watermelons like rich soil that drains well. Amend the soil with aged manure or compost before planting. If you have clay soil you can mix some sand into it. Watermelons are heavy feeders and prefer a soil pH between 6 and 6.8.
I live in kenya, coast province, specifically kilifi. I want to plant watermelon. when is the right time to do that
the right time would be just before the end of the short rains to allow for germination and early vegetative growth using available rainwater .
For more info contact me at siyulesi@gmail.com. Am in Kitale Kenya working as an agronomist.
approximadetly how many watermelon plants can you grow in 1 acre of land how many fruits does each plant harvest ,thank you
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Watermelons grow in full Sun and love hot, humid weather and light, moist, fertile, well-draining soil. During harvest, watermelons must be shaded from burning sunlight to minimize heating and sunburn. The dense leaves help provide that shade.
Many people just grow the melons on the ground, however trellising would improve air circulation and reduce disease problems. If growing melons on a trellis, support fruit with slings made from netting, fabric, or pantyhose. Choose a smaller-fruited variety for trellising.