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Watermelons

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When to plant watermelons

Needs a long, hot summer. Where summers are cool it is a greenhouse crop.

Photo: Kumon, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 2–3 weeks after the average last frost.
Start indoors
3–4 weeks before planting out, or sow directly outside
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 18°C64°F or more
Days to harvest
About 85 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 4 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
70 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Miami, January 1
Latest start (north)
Spokane, June 24
Can go in this week
5 cities
No outdoor window
San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Anchorage, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hobart, Auckland

Watermelons: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
MiamiFlorida
HonoluluHawaii
TampaFlorida
OrlandoFlorida
PhoenixArizona
HoustonTexas
JacksonvilleFlorida
San AntonioTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
AustinTexas
TucsonArizona
Las VegasNevada
DallasTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
El PasoTexas
Little RockArkansas
BirminghamAlabama
AtlantaGeorgia
MemphisTennessee
Los AngelesCalifornia
FresnoCalifornia
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
CharlotteNorth Carolina
TulsaOklahoma
NashvilleTennessee
RaleighNorth Carolina
RichmondVirginia
SacramentoCalifornia
St. LouisMissouri
LouisvilleKentucky
San DiegoCalifornia
BaltimoreMaryland
Kansas CityMissouri
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
IndianapolisIndiana
San JoseCalifornia
ColumbusOhio
OmahaNebraska
PittsburghPennsylvania
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
ClevelandOhio
MinneapolisMinnesota
Salt Lake CityUtah
DetroitMichigan
ChicagoIllinois
BostonMassachusetts
DenverColorado
FargoNorth Dakota
MadisonWisconsin
MilwaukeeWisconsin
BoiseIdaho
MontrealQuebec
TorontoOntario
BuffaloNew York
OttawaOntario
BurlingtonVermont
BillingsMontana
PortlandMaine
WinnipegManitoba
SpokaneWashington
Southern hemisphere
BrisbaneQueensland
SydneyNew South Wales
PerthWestern Australia
AdelaideSouth Australia
MelbourneVictoria
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsSow outdoorsHarvest
Miami Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu Hawaii–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Tampa FloridaJan 25 – Feb 21Feb 22 – Oct 15May 3 – Jan 28
Orlando FloridaJan 29 – Feb 25Feb 26 – Oct 10May 7 – Jan 22
Phoenix ArizonaFeb 18 – Mar 17, Aug 8 – Sep 1Mar 18 – Jun 9, Sep 5 – Sep 22Nov 5 – Jan 7, May 23 – Sep 3
Houston TexasFeb 20 – Mar 19Mar 20 – Sep 21May 26 – Dec 27
Jacksonville FloridaFeb 22 – Mar 21Mar 22 – Sep 23May 28 – Jan 8
San Antonio TexasFeb 22 – Mar 21Mar 22 – Sep 13May 27 – Dec 2
New Orleans LouisianaFeb 25 – Mar 24Mar 25 – Sep 17May 30 – Jan 2
Austin TexasMar 2 – Mar 29Mar 30 – Sep 10Jun 3 – Dec 2
Tucson ArizonaMar 3 – Mar 30Mar 31 – Sep 14Jun 4 – Dec 8
Las Vegas NevadaMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Jun 26, Aug 19 – Sep 2Jun 11 – Sep 20, Oct 18 – Nov 21
Dallas TexasMar 12 – Apr 8Apr 9 – Sep 3Jun 12 – Nov 26
Charleston South CarolinaMar 18 – Apr 14Apr 15 – Sep 5Jun 19 – Dec 6
El Paso TexasMar 19 – Apr 15Apr 16 – Aug 28Jun 19 – Nov 18
Little Rock ArkansasMar 24 – Apr 20Apr 21 – Aug 21Jun 24 – Nov 9
Birmingham AlabamaMar 26 – Apr 22Apr 23 – Aug 22Jun 26 – Nov 10
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Aug 19Jun 28 – Nov 7
Memphis TennesseeMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Aug 21Jun 28 – Nov 11
Los Angeles CaliforniaMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Sep 14Jul 8 – Dec 26
Fresno CaliforniaMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Aug 29Jun 29 – Nov 19
Oklahoma City OklahomaMar 29 – Apr 25Apr 26 – Aug 17Jun 29 – Nov 1
Charlotte North CarolinaMar 31 – Apr 27Apr 28 – Aug 15Jul 1 – Nov 2
Tulsa OklahomaApr 2 – Apr 29Apr 30 – Aug 17Jul 3 – Nov 3
Nashville TennesseeApr 3 – Apr 30May 1 – Aug 15Jul 4 – Nov 2
Raleigh North CarolinaApr 5 – May 2May 3 – Aug 15Jul 6 – Nov 3
Richmond VirginiaApr 8 – May 5May 6 – Aug 13Jul 9 – Nov 3
Sacramento CaliforniaApr 8 – May 5May 6 – Aug 26Jul 10 – Nov 18
St. Louis MissouriApr 10 – May 7May 8 – Aug 8Jul 10 – Oct 25
Louisville KentuckyApr 11 – May 8May 9 – Aug 10Jul 12 – Oct 30
San Diego CaliforniaApr 12 – May 9May 10 – Sep 6Jul 25 – Dec 18
Baltimore MarylandApr 14 – May 11May 12 – Aug 10Jul 14 – Oct 31
Kansas City MissouriApr 14 – May 11May 12 – Aug 6Jul 14 – Oct 25
Washington District of ColumbiaApr 15 – May 12May 13 – Aug 9Jul 16 – Oct 31
Albuquerque New MexicoApr 15 – May 12May 13 – Aug 7Jul 15 – Oct 27
Cincinnati OhioApr 17 – May 14May 15 – Aug 4Jul 18 – Oct 24
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaApr 20 – May 17May 18 – Aug 7Jul 20 – Oct 28
Indianapolis IndianaApr 21 – May 18May 19 – Aug 2Jul 21 – Oct 22
San Jose CaliforniaApr 21 – May 18May 19 – Aug 20Jul 30 – Dec 2
Columbus OhioApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Jul 31Jul 24 – Oct 21
Omaha NebraskaApr 24 – May 21May 22 – Jul 29Jul 24 – Oct 17
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaApr 25 – May 22May 23 – Jul 29Jul 26 – Oct 20
Des Moines IowaApr 26 – May 23May 24 – Jul 27Jul 26 – Oct 16
New York New YorkApr 29 – May 26May 27 – Aug 3Jul 29 – Oct 27
Cleveland OhioApr 30 – May 27May 28 – Jul 27Jul 31 – Oct 19
Minneapolis MinnesotaMay 3 – May 30May 31 – Jul 18Aug 3 – Oct 9
Salt Lake City UtahMay 3 – May 30May 31 – Jul 30Aug 1 – Oct 17
Detroit MichiganMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Jul 24Aug 4 – Oct 15
Chicago IllinoisMay 6 – Jun 2Jun 3 – Jul 25Aug 7 – Oct 16
Boston MassachusettsMay 8 – Jun 4Jun 5 – Jul 25Aug 8 – Oct 17
Denver ColoradoMay 8 – Jun 4Jun 5 – Jul 20Aug 7 – Oct 7
Fargo North DakotaMay 10 – Jun 6Jun 7 – Jul 10Aug 11 – Sep 29
Madison WisconsinMay 11 – Jun 7Jun 8 – Jul 13Aug 15 – Oct 9
Milwaukee WisconsinMay 13 – Jun 9Jun 10 – Jul 16Aug 16 – Oct 11
Boise IdahoMay 13 – Jun 9Jun 10 – Jul 25Aug 13 – Oct 14
Montreal QuebecMay 14 – Jun 10Jun 11 – Jul 10Aug 19 – Oct 5
Toronto OntarioMay 15 – Jun 11Jun 12 – Jul 13Aug 19 – Oct 8
Buffalo New YorkMay 16 – Jun 12Jun 13 – Jul 14Aug 22 – Oct 13
Ottawa OntarioMay 16 – Jun 12Jun 13 – Jul 5Aug 23 – Oct 1
Burlington VermontMay 20 – Jun 16Jun 17 – Jul 9Aug 26 – Oct 8
Billings MontanaMay 20 – Jun 16Jun 17 – Jul 12Aug 20 – Oct 2
Portland MaineMay 21 – Jun 14Jun 18 – Jul 5Aug 29 – Oct 7
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 23 – Jun 3Jun 20 – Jun 24Sep 3 – Sep 21
Spokane WashingtonMay 27 – Jun 13Jun 24 – Jul 4Sep 4 – Oct 1
Brisbane QueenslandAug 18 – Sep 14Sep 15 – Mar 24Nov 23 – Jul 6
Sydney New South WalesSep 23 – Oct 20Oct 21 – Feb 20Jan 5 – Jun 3
Perth Western AustraliaSep 26 – Oct 23Oct 24 – Mar 12Jan 1 – Jun 24
Adelaide South AustraliaOct 9 – Nov 5Nov 6 – Feb 5Jan 18 – May 20
Melbourne VictoriaNov 5 – Dec 2Dec 3 – Jan 17Feb 17 – May 1
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryNov 11 – Dec 8Dec 9 – Jan 5Feb 21 – Apr 18
San Francisco CaliforniaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Portland OregonSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Seattle WashingtonSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Anchorage AlaskaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
London EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Birmingham EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Manchester EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Bristol EnglandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Cardiff WalesSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Edinburgh ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Glasgow ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Belfast Northern IrelandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Dublin IrelandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Vancouver British ColumbiaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Calgary AlbertaThe frost-free season is too short outdoors (it needs about 113 days). Grow under cover, or choose early varieties.
Edmonton AlbertaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Halifax Nova ScotiaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Hobart TasmaniaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Auckland New ZealandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.

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