Person holding a large, oblong Tendersweet Orange watermelon with green striped rind in a garden.
Two round slices of Tendersweet Orange watermelon showing glowing orange flesh and seeds on a gray surface.
Person holding a large, oblong Tendersweet Orange watermelon with a classic green striped rind.
Close-up of the vibrant orange flesh and seeds of a sliced Tendersweet Orange watermelon.
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Tendersweet Orange - Organic Watermelon Seeds

Open-Pollinated
Certified Organic
$4.20 $4.95
Choose size

🌱 Sow with Confidence—One-Year Seed Guarantee

Tendersweet Orange looks like a classic striped watermelon on the outside, then opens to glowing orange flesh that stops people mid-slice. This heirloom, open-pollinated variety produces large oblong fruits with a sweet, juicy interior and a color that feels like sunshine poured into the rind.

It is a beautiful choice for gardeners who want something familiar enough for the picnic table but surprising enough to make it memorable. Give vines warmth, water, and room, then harvest when the ground spot yellows and the nearest tendril dries.

Scientific name: Citrullus lanatus
Life cycle: Annual
Days to maturity: 90 days from sowing

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We stand behind every packet. Our seeds are untreated, germination-tested, true to variety, and covered for one year from purchase.

If seeds arrive damaged, fail to germinate under reasonable growing conditions, or do not grow true to type, contact us and we’ll make it right with a replacement, store credit, or refund.

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FAMILY OWNED

Hand packed in Pennsylvania by our family.

LAB TESTED

Third-party tested for reliable germination.

NON-GMO

Open-pollinated varieties for home gardens & seed saving.

UNTREATED SEED

Never coated with chemical seed treatments.

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Watermelon Growing Basics

Watermelon began in the warm regions of Africa, where its juicy flesh offered food and precious water beneath a hard rind. Centuries of selection have given us melons large and small, round and oblong, with flesh ranging from familiar red to pink, orange, yellow, and nearly white.

Few harvests feel more like summer than carrying a sun-warmed melon from the garden. Watermelon is a heat-loving annual that needs warm soil, full sun, room to ramble, dependable pollination, and enough uninterrupted summer to ripen fully on the vine.

Direct sow after frost danger has passed, the soil has warmed to at least 65°F, and nights remain reliably mild. Watermelon is sensitive to cold and gains little from being planted into chilly ground.

In shorter seasons, start seeds indoors about 2–3 weeks before transplanting. Choose early or smaller-fruited varieties where summers are brief, and allow roughly 70–100 days for most varieties to mature.

Sow seeds about 1 inch deep. Space plants approximately 2–4 feet apart in rows 6 feet apart, giving vigorous vines room to spread without competing with nearby crops.

When starting indoors, sow each seed in its own container and transplant while plants are still young, usually with no more than two or three true leaves. Harden them gradually and disturb the roots as little as possible.

Choose the warmest, sunniest part of the garden and provide loose, well-drained soil enriched with finished compost. Watermelons need full sun to develop their best sweetness and may ripen slowly where vines are shaded.

Water deeply during vine growth, flowering, and early fruit development. Reduce watering somewhat as melons near maturity, while avoiding severe drought. Mulch after the soil has warmed to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and keep fruit away from damp soil.

Male flowers appear before female flowers, and bees carry the pollen needed to set fruit. Flowering herbs and annuals nearby can help support a lively community of pollinators.

Watermelons must ripen fully on the vine because they do not become sweeter after harvest. Use several signs together rather than relying on thumping alone.

A ripe melon usually has a dry brown tendril nearest the fruit, a duller rind, and a ground spot that has changed from pale white to creamy or buttery yellow. Cut the stem rather than pulling the fruit from the vine.

Full Watermelon Growing Guide