×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

Soil, Sunlight, Fertilizer, and Water for Your Watermelon Plants

Gardening Guide: Wonderful Watermelon: How to Grow the Fruit that Means 'Summer'

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Soil, Sunlight, Fertilizer, and Water for Your Watermelon Plants

By Norann Oleson

Watermelon seedling growing in garden bed

Planting Seeds and Seedlings

Because of their need for heat, don’t plant your watermelon plants or seeds until about two weeks after all danger of frost has passed. Watermelon requires air and soil temperatures above 70 degrees—preferably 80 degrees—to thrive.

If you’re worried about soil temperatures in your area, lay down black plastic sheeting or trash bags on the bed about two weeks before planting. The sun’s warmth will be reflected into the soil to raise the temperature.

Plant your watermelons in loose, well-drained, but moisture-retentive soil that is rich in organic matter. When you’re ready to plant, be sure to choose a spot that gets eight to twelve hours of sun per day. The more sunlight the watermelon plant gets, the better your yield will be.

To plant either seeds or seedlings, first dig a hole about 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep. If you’re planting more than one watermelon, be sure to space your holes apart to accommodate the variety you’ve chosen—anywhere from 3 feet all around to 10 feet around.

Fill the hole completely with garden soil, compost, and a handful or two of sand to make sure the soil drains well. The most important part is adding fertilizer. Start with a nitrogen-based fertilizer to give your plant the nutrients it needs right from the beginning. (Later, you’ll switch to a different fertilizer.) Mix the fertilizer into the soil well to avoid burning the plant’s roots.

Watermelon sprouting in planting mound

Once you’ve filled the hole, use the remaining soil you dug out of the ground to build a small mound at least 6 inches tall, and flatten the mound at the top. This is where you plant a couple of seeds (1/2-inch-deep), or one seedling. If you plant two seeds, you’ll thin out the weaker of the plants later, but this gives you a better shot at having at least one good grower.

Don’t grow watermelons where cucumbers or squash have been grown recently.

Do plant watermelons near bush beans, corn, dill, eggplant, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Watering and Fertilizing your Watermelon Plants

Hand-watering a watermelon plant at the base

Hand-watering a watermelon plant at the base

Unsurprisingly, watermelon plants require a good supply of water. Always water deeply at the base of the plant on a regular schedule. Your watering schedule will depend, of course, on how much rain you get. As a general rule, water your watermelon plants whenever the top 2 to 4 inches of soil is dry, and never let the watermelon vine get dried out.

  • Another tip: Leaf wilt at the end of the day is no cause for concern. But if the leaves are wilting in the morning, water your plants immediately.

If possible, a drip irrigation system is the best option for ensuring slow, deep watering, but don’t worry if you don’t have one. Home growers have been successfully harvesting fat watermelons for years, and you can, too! Be sure to mulch around your plants to keep moisture in and weeds out.

In any case, stop watering about a week before harvest. This allows the sugars to concentrate in the fruit and gives you the sweetest possible flavor.

Fertilize weekly with a nitrogen-based fertilizer until the plant’s flowers blossom. After that, use a phosphorus-based fertilizer, again applied on a weekly basis. Watermelons love their nutrients, but too much nitrogen will encourage leaf and vine growth, not fruit.

Have you ever had problems fertilizing or watering your watermelon plants? Please tell us your secrets for getting a good watermelon crop from your garden.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

cucumbers, fertilizer, watermelon

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Growing Zones for Watermelon
  • Types of Watermelon Plants
  • Pollinating Watermelon Plants
  • Choosing the Right Variety of Watermelon
  • Growing Watermelon from Seeds or Seedlings
  • Growing Watermelon in Open Land, in Raised Beds, or on a Trellis
  • Soil, Sunlight, Fertilizer, and Water for Your Watermelon Plants
  • Watermelon Care: Pests and Disease
  • Harvesting Your Watermelons
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Watermelons
  • Start Growing Watermelon in Raised Beds
  • Plant Profiles

  • Desert King Watermelon
  • Black Diamond Watermelon
  • Yellow Doll Watermelon
  • Crimson Sweet Watermelon
  • King of Hearts Watermelon
  • Sugar Baby Watermelon
  • Recipes

  • Grilled Watermelon and Pineapple Skewers
  • Grilled Watermelon Salad
  • Easy Watermelon Sorbet
  • Fresh Mozzarella Watermelon Salad
  • Watermelon Rind Smoothie
  • Watermelon Fruit Rollups
  • Margarita Watermelon
  • Watermelon Juice
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Watermelon
  • Home Remedies and Health Benefits of Watermelon
  • Resources about Watermelon
  • Watermelon Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • Decoding Watermelon Ripeness
  • Wonderful Watermelon: How to Grow the Fruit that Means ‘Summer’

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.