How To Grow Watermelon

Learn how to grow watermelon organically in your backyard in this post!

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How to grow watermelon at home

A fresh off the vine watermelon is hard to beat. Sweet, juicy, and absolutely delicious! Perfect on a summer’s day!

Watermelons are native to Africa and need a long, hot growing season to be successful, however, even if you are in northern states there are many varieties of ice-box watermelon that you can grow and harvest.

When to sow watermelon seed

Plants are very sensitive to temperature so if you are in a shorter season area, sow your watermelon seeds indoors in a seed tray or a seed pot. Since watermelon seedlings struggle with transplant shock, consider using compostable plant pots that are larger so the whole thing can be planted after the spring frosts.

Use a good seed starting mix, I like the Jiffy Natural and Organic Seed Starting Mix or the Fox Farm Ocean Forest Mix and Fox Farm Happy Frog Organic Potting Soil Mix.

Learn more about seed starting in The Ultimate Guide To Seed Starting

Start your watermelon seeds 3-4 weeks before your last frost date in spring if you are in a shorter season area. If you are in a warmer area you can start your seeds indoors 1-2 weeks before your last frost date.

Transplant or direct sow your watermelon only when the average soil and daytime air temperatures are at least 70°F (21°C). Do not grow watermelon unprotected where nighttime air temperatures fall below 60°F (16°C). Use a floating row cover to keep seedlings snug and protected if the temperatures drop.

What varieties of watermelon to grow at home?

There’s a lot of watermelon varieties to grow and you should choose a variety that will mature within your growing season. Some varieties are ready in 80 days, others over 100 days. Here are some great heirloom and open-pollinated varieties to try:

Sugar Baby – 75 – 80 days
Blacktail Mountain – 75 – 85 days
OrangeGlo – 85 – 90 days
White Stoney Mountain – 90 days
Golden Midget – 70 days
Early Moonbeam – 75 – 80 days
Jubilee – 85 – 95 days
Moon and Stars – 80 – 90 days

Where to plant watermelons

Watermelons need a sunny location in the garden and are heavy feeders. They need soil that is well-draining and rich with organic matter. Add plenty of well-rotted compost to the planting space before planting.

Avoid planting watermelon where it will be shaded out by structures or other plants that are tall like tomatoes, corn, sunflowers, or sorghum.

Watermelon plants need space for the vines to grow. The vines can reach 6 feet or more. If you are planting multiple plants, space watermelons 6 to 12 feet (1.8-3.6 m) apart.

Plants grow well in small hills in the garden bed. Hilling the soil up helps to keep the roots of the watermelon plants warmer and drain better. One tip is to add well-rotted compost to a hole then make a hill above the hole to sow seeds or transplant a watermelon seedling into it after all risk of frost has passed. Make your hills at least 6 ft apart to allow the vines to spread out. If you are in a humid location, give the plants more space to allow good air circulation to cut down on diseases spreading.

If you are in arid climates, create a waffle or crater with soil mounded on the edges. This helps to conserve water in the soil. To create a waffle or crater, dig a hole about 2-3 ft across and 6 inches deep. Take the soil you remove and mound it around the edge. Make a crater 6 ft apart to allow the watermelon vines to spread.

Add compost to the crater and any other goodies like kelp meal, azomite, or worm castings and crushed up eggshells. Watermelons can succumb to blossom end rot like tomatoes so regular watering and ease up on the nitrogen sources when feeding your plants!

Keep weeds from the watermelon planting area. If watermelons are competing with other plants for space or nutrients the fruits produced will be smaller and less tasty.

Watering watermelon plants

Your watermelon plants need the right amount of water to flourish. During the first 4 weeks of growing, the plants are working on developing their root systems. Check the soil regularly and water the plants whenever the top 3-4 inches of soil are dry. Mulch will help to keep both weeds down and moisture in the soil.

As your watermelon plants are getting bigger and starting to set fruit, don’t overwater your plants or the fruit will not be as sweet or flavorful. If the leaves of your watermelon plants are wilting before noon, water your plants.

Some gardeners recommend stopping watering a watermelon about 2 weeks before the fruits are ready to harvest to make the fruits sweeter.

Care of watermelon plants

When transplanting your watermelon plants, a little seaweed tea or compost tea can help your plants settle into their growing space and limit transplant shock.
Place straw under the watermelon fruits to keep them off the soil and reduce spoiling.
Side-dress with compost throughout the growing season.
Feed your watermelon plants with a little OMRI Listed Organic Seaweed Liquid Fertilizer every couple of weeks (or make your own seaweed and compost tea!).
If pests are a real problem in your garden cover your plants with floating row cover until they start flowering then remove the cover so pollinators can have access to the flowers and do their thing!
Use mulch to stop soil splashing up onto the leaves and spreading diseases.
Use drip irrigation, soaker hose, or a good old-fashioned watering can and water your plants at the soil level, avoid getting the leaves wet to reduce the spread of disease.

How to grow watermelon with companion plants

A green manure mixture of oats and field peas sown in the area that the watermelons will grow helps to improve the fertility of the soil in the area. Cut the green manure 2-3 weeks before transplanting the watermelon seedlings. The tops of the green manure mulch the soil but adding 1-2 inches of compost then covering with another mulch like straw or leaves will smother weeds, feed the soil, and help retain water!

Watermelons are reliant on pollinators to transfer pollen from the male flowers onto the female flowers. Growing pollinator attractive flowers near the watermelon patch will help bring pollinators near to the watermelon flowers and help produce the fruit. Some great flowers and herbs to grow nearby include borage, basil, mint, tansy, and marigolds. If you are growing the seedless hybrid watermelons, you will need to grow seeded, open-pollinated varieties too. The seedless hybrids need polled from an open-pollinated variety to produce the fruit.

Learn about heirloom, hybrid, and open-pollinated seeds in this post.

Leeks, garlic, and onions growing nearby can help to deter pests from the area as can marigolds.

Another great way to use plants as mulch is to grow fast-growing radishes in the bed before the watermelons are transplanted. The radishes grow fast, helping to smother out the weeds whilst the watermelons establish themselves.

Learn more about green manures in this related post.

When to harvest watermelon

Watermelons don’t sweeten after they are picked, so harvesting at the right time is important. They typically ripen over a 2 week period, so keep your eye on them when they get big.

How to tell if your watermelon is ripe?

Do a visual check of your watermelons! Look at the color on the top of the fruit, the watermelon is ripe when there is little contrast between the stripes. If it’s hard to tell the difference and it can be in some heirloom varieties, look at the color on the bottom of the fruit. A ripe melon will have a creamy to yellow-colored bottom, not white in color.

The next check is the tendril. Look for the curly tendril closest to the stem where the watermelon fruit is attached. the tendril is green, wait! If it’s half-dead, turning yellow or, brown, and going crispy, the watermelon is nearly ripe. If the tendril is fully dead, brown, shriveled, and crispy then the watermelon is ripe or even overripe so pick it! Stems should be cut with a sharp knife close to the fruit.

Storing your watermelon harvest

Watermelons do not keep well and are best used fresh. Get one in the fridge to enjoy cool, crisp slices on a hot day. The rinds can also be pickled and are a delicious side for many dishes. You can also dehydrate watermelon for a deliciously sweet snack and even freeze it for smoothies.

Let me know in the Facebook group what variety of watermelon you are growing this year! I love to see your garden pictures and hear from you about what you are growing!

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