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.
Growing Guide
Timing
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.
Sowing & Starting
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.
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