For many , the sweet and fresh gustatory modality of watermelon utterly becharm the flavor of summer , and nothing savour as good as homegrown melons . To produce ripe yield , watermelons , like cantaloupe , must grow in two to three month of heat , so if you live in the north , it may be crafty to know when to constitute watermelon in the garden .
The populace of watermelons ( Citrullus lanatus ) plump beyond the seed vs. seedless argument . There are four master type of watermelon vine , each with a delicious flavor and benefits . What interests dwelling house growers is the length of time it take each variety to reach maturity . If you ’re fight down against a shorter watermelon growing season , pick out a faster - growing type may be a consummate option .
When you know the good time to plant Citrullus vulgaris seeds in your garden , the rest of the journeying to bringing watermelon vine from the garden to your table is simple . Continue reading to find out when the best time to embark on planting watermelon vine is for your growing geographical zone .
When to Plant Watermelon Seeds Based on Your Growing Season
Because watermelon want a strong soil temperature to ripen , it is a highly cultivated yield grown in tropic to temperate region . Keeping this in mind , know when to put source into the ground is all important to ensure your melon vine mature aright for the best taste once you harvest them .
Based on the average temperature from the U.S. Department of Agriculture works hardiness map , watermelons grow best in zones three through eleven .
Although this range covers most of the United States , other factors such as soil conditions , heat energy , and tribute from pests all play a part in whether or not your watermelon plants make it to reap .
An Overview of When to Plant Watermelon Seeds
For your watermelon vine seedling to germinate and accomplish the right point of ripeness , they demand to grow for two to three months in temperatures between 70 and 90 ° F.Plant and grow cantaloupeduring about the same fourth dimension .
If you live in a cold climate and allowing your watermelon vine to grow in the idealistic temperature range is a challenge , starting indoors and choose a fast - growing multifariousness is a workaround for this dilemma .
Cool temperature affect the taste of your melon vine but allowing frost to run into your plant could mean the end of your watermelon vine plant . Additionally , when know in a grow zone with spicy conditions in the summer , short - time of year Citrullus vulgaris varieties help debar your watermelon growing in temperature that make its flowers to droop and pass off .
As with most strong - time of year crops , when to plant Citrullus vulgaris seeds depend on the last frost date for your area . Depending on your growing zone , this could be from February to June .
At this gunpoint , the ground melting and the soil in your garden is workable enough for cum . To avoid rime or extreme heat , starting seeds indoors to organise for transplanting becomes a life buoy for you and your watermelons .
When to Plant Watermelon in Zone 5 and Below
To master the watermelon growing time of year in cold parts of the United States , lookup for Citrullus vulgaris change that mature in less than 90 days . Orangeglo is a stale - hardy watermelon sort that grows in zone four with security from a cloche or course covering .
In early May , start to sow outdoors for zona five when temperature are likely to reach the seventy . For a jumpstart , begin planting your seed indoors in peat pots to help belittle tenseness from transplant .
mature zones three and four cover parts of Alaska , portions of the northerly midwest , and select character of the northeastern United States . go in this spring up zone means that the median temperature wo n’t reach 70 ° F until around June or July , with temperatures tapering off in September .
Many habitation growers find success establish their melon vine seed flat into the ground once it is workable and make a cloche out of a plastic feeding bottle to make a miniskirt - nursery for their seedling .
A workaround to direct seeding is to depart growing watermelons indoors two to three weeks before the last expected frost date , transplanting them once the grease reaches 65 ° farad .
When to Plant Watermelon in Zone 6
For areas within zone six , although temperature are on the rise in May , the danger of Robert Lee Frost at night still exists that threatens your grow Citrullus vulgaris . If you plan on seed watermelon vine seed directly into the garden , look until previous May or June when there are no more opportunity for Robert Lee Frost to reach your garden .
Like in stale area , place yourself at an vantage by rise watermelons indoors to originate . imbed your source deep into your pot and place them on a gay windowsill to give them the best chance of germinating .
Once they sprout , thin seeds out until the most robust remains , and keep your watermelon plant in the window as you look for warm weather to arrive . When your plant is certain to pick up full Lord’s Day on sunny days , bring them outside to acclimatise them to the out-of-door condition .
To transplant with minimal risk of accentuate your plant ’s roots , grow in a peat pot that you’re able to post directly in the soil in your garden . make holes in the garden that are cryptic and wider than the pot your plant life is growing in . Plant watermelon far apart , since they grow very long vine and really unfold . design your spatial arrangement of at least six feet apart .
When to Plant Watermelon in Zone 7 and Higher
For rest home growers in endure zones seven and eight , lower parts of the middle west and part of the Dixieland , your Citrullus vulgaris growing time of year starts in April . For zones nine and above , the growing season starts mid - March .
Because living in warm climates comes with a longer growing season , you have the choice to stagger planting . Planting more seeds let you to glean and enjoy watermelon longer than most .
If you engraft many watermelons throughout the season , deal growing them on a trellis as watermelon vine take up considerable space in the garden and may bear upon the maturation of nearby plants by blocking sunlight . Growing watermelon in potsis also possible if you choose a minuscule kind .
When direct sowing , place black charge plate over the soil to help warm it and keep it at the optimum temperature . Because your melon are spending their entire life in the garden , balance your soil to promote ontogeny for watermelon .
Provide a sample to your local university extension office and make changes by adding nutrients or older manure to adjust the grunge .
Melons love absorbing water and need to stay hydrated over the growing season , so be sure to on a regular basis break the top inch of soil if you are not using a drip irrigation organisation .
As temperatures rise , if soil drying out is a concern , consider adding mulch made with constitutive topic to keep the dirt moist and minimize the need for weed .
If you prefer a small watermelon variety , Citrullus vulgaris can grow in large pots , too . Try Sugar Baby and Sugar Pot type for your containers .
Growing and Caring for Watermelons
With the right-hand soil conditions and temperatures that remain in your favour , you ’ve conquered half the battle in caring for Citrullus vulgaris until they glean . Unfortunately , garden pestis and disease threaten the living of your melon .
Diseases that strike watermelons and cucurbits light into three categories : bacterial , fungal , and viral . Viral infections tend to be worse as they infect the germ itself , and by the time you bring in the precondition exist , it is likely too recent . Destroy the entire works and any dust to prevent the spreading of the disease .
To combat this , workshop for evidence contagion - costless ejaculate from garden centers and sanitize any tool used to care septic plant . sanitization keeps you from inadvertently spreading the disease to healthy plant in your garden .
Other disease are sometimes introduced to your garden by insects that serve as vectors for disease , making regular reconnoitring for pests all important for the health of your harvest .
Common Pests and Diseases for Watermelons
Anthracnose is a fungous disease that touch watermelons by forming dark yellow or smuggled lesions on the surface of the fruit or brownish lesion on the vine and foliage .
To debar this disease and thin out risk , only use disease - destitute seeds and rotate the planting musical arrangement of your plants every one to two years so that cucurbits are n’t grow where another cucurbit grow last year .
Mildew disease that affect plants cause mottling on leaves and lesions that make leaves to curl in . The mildew source is probable in the area near your garden that the wind or rain carried . Remove and destroy any infected plants to prevent the disease from spread , and try grow on a treillage to advertize air circulation .
stripy cucumber beetles are a problem for watermelon vine plant as a gathering of more than five causes severe legal injury to your plants ’ roots , leaves , and heyday . A damaged flower is a problem because watermelon vine plants produce both male and distaff flower for yield production .
Should beetle damage these flowers , pollination can not hap . Zucchini and other squashes arebad companion plants for watermelonbecause they work these dreaded beetle nigher to feed on Citrullus vulgaris vine . insecticide help reduce the universe of beetles in your garden as well as barrier such as floating rowing covers .
aphid are little insects commonly found on the bottom of plant leaves . Aphids release a mucilaginous substance called honeydew melon that encourages mold increment in plant .
Because of their little size , aphids are well knocked off works by shoot them with a water supply hosepipe . Still , insecticidal goop is just as effective without risking harm your plant or fostering bacterial growth .
commingle dish grievous bodily harm and neem oil color . Add only two tablespoon of your mix into a spray bottle with water . When treating your plants , only mix your crude oil and grievous bodily harm with pee for the amount you think you ’ll use that day . Spray the leaves of your plant thoroughly to stay an plague of aphids .
Watermelon Varieties
When snitch at your grocery computer memory , you may only consider seeded or seedless Citrullus vulgaris as your choice when bring in home this tasty yield ; however , there are over 50 varieties of watermelon vine .
Some of these cultivar involve pink , yellow , or orangish watermelons in various size aside from their signature oblong shape . Different variety also come with depart growth rates for reach maturity , which is essential to keep in nous when settle when to found watermelon cum .
The 1990s go steady the creation of seedless watermelon , melons with small or underdeveloped seeds that retained the sweetness of seed varieties . However , in the process , seedless Citrullus vulgaris seeds hurt from a small sprouting rate . To see to it these type burgeon forth , keep them fond at a constant 90 ° degree Fahrenheit .
As the name paint a picture , picnic watermelon are nifty for sharing with your menage at a picnic . These traditional - looking melon vine with glowering green outsides and a short rind grow in around 85 days and are likely what you ’ll ascertain stack in the local foodstuff store .
Icebox watermelon vine are small watermelon , usually weighing around ten pounds on ordinary . These melons have pinkish - red form or sometimes yellow and grow tough , crack - tolerant rinds .
Watermelons that ripen with white-livered or orangish flesh may be seed or have developing seeds ( Chiffon and Honeyheart ) and are typically round . These melons mature in about 75 solar day once their curly tendril dry out .
Agood time to pick watermelonsdepends on which variety you grow , but is in the main 80 day or so . You ’ll be in for a surprisal when you slit the orangish ones open .
After you reap your voluptuous Citrullus vulgaris , you may have more than you’re able to rust before it spoils . There are a variety of ways ofstoring and preserving watermelons , from freezing and dehydrating to ca-ca jam from the rinds . You ’re sure to enjoy them all .
We go for you learned when to plant watermelon through our article and will deal our tip on the Citrullus vulgaris growing time of year with fellow watermelon vine lovers on Facebook and Pinterest .
