Growing Watermelon

Cucurbitaceae c. lanatus : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                S S S S
T                   T T
                    P P

(Best months for growing Watermelon in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 70°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 24 - 30 inches apart
  • Harvest in 12-17 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweetcorn, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

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15 Jan 20, Another gardener (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I'm sub-tropical Qld - they plant seedlings here late august and pick the melons up until Xmas. Planting later leaves you wide open to heavy rain, hot weather. A lot of rain when the melons are fully developed and they can/will split. Water melon seeds I threw in the garden in Oct germinated within 2-3 weeks. Here you can grow a spring and autumn crop. I would suggest you planted too late. If not growing I don't think the soil is very fertile.
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07 Jan 20, Alice Mukondyo (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
can red melon be found in Sa all year round???
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09 Jan 20, Anon (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Are you asking about the seeds or the melon to buy.?
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26 Dec 19, Phoebe (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I have a watermelon growing and setting teeny baby fruit but they all wither and drop off within a week of setting. Any ideas?
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30 Dec 19, anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Sounds like you have no bees to pollinate the female flower. Do it by hand. (With a soft artist's brush or use a male flower)
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15 Dec 19, Puiti (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Can I grow watermelon in Te Kuiti?
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17 Dec 19, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
You should be able to grow watermelon, if you start them early in pots or trays undercover. Have a look here www.gardenate.com/plant/Watermelon
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18 Nov 19, Bickie Mbenge (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi Which sweet large watermelon do you recommend for me. I want to start watermelon farming. Please recommend seeds name. Regards
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19 Nov 19, anon (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I suggest you phone your agricultural department and ask. Generally it comes down to what kind of melon you want to grow, seeded, seedless, big, small. Check out a few internet seed selling companies also and read up about the different varieties.
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16 Nov 19, Anne Hay (Australia - temperate climate)
What sort of of soil should be used for growing watermelon. Should they be grown in the sun or shade and what do you feed them please.
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Showing 111 - 120 of 355 comments
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Water melons must have been invented for rank amateurs. I live in Coconut Grove, Darwin, NT and have zero gardening experience, but decided to plant some water melon seeds (in pots) at the end of October - build up time to our summer wet season. They germinated fast so out into the garden they went with a lot less ground preparation than there could have been. They grew, started producing flowers (male only for quite some time) so I kept watering them with the odd bit of general purpose soluble plant food. I haven't seen any diseases so they haven't been sprayed - apart from the termite man's overspray with he did my house's annual ant and spider treatment. Then, in early December, growth went up a few notches; I could see how far a vine had grown in a day. They started taking over the garden. Flowers appeared everywhere, as did tiny native bees to attend to pollination. Every few days a small watermelon appeared and quickly got bigger. At that point I sought some advice from a local garden shop on what I should be doing; they told me to keep watering and sold me some organic fertilizer pellets to feed them with. Now they've taken over the garden, have started climbing fences and keep on producing new melons. I'd never have imagined it could be that easy.

- Grahame B

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. GardenGrow is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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