Fruit & Berries

Watermelon

Sow into warm soil with room to run, and ease off water once the fruit sizes up.

Citrullus lanatus · Fruit & Berries · Annual or seasonal

When to plant Watermelon in Australia

Sourced timing by broad climate zone. Zones with no sourced timing for an action are left out rather than estimated.

Sow seed: Cool — Sep, Oct; Temperate — Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov; Subtropical, Arid — Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec; Tropical — Mar, Apr, May, Jun
Plant out seedlings: Cool — Nov; Temperate — Oct, Nov, Dec; Subtropical — Jan, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec; Tropical — Apr, May, Jun, Jul; Arid — Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec
Harvest: Cool, Temperate, Subtropical, Tropical, Arid — 12–14 weeks after sowing

Australian planting guide by climate zone

Sourced guidance by broad climate zone, shown as fixed months, timing relative to sowing or planting, or written growing advice. Your GrowCal calendar applies your regional growing profile, so its dates may sit earlier or later than the months below.

Watermelon planting timing by Australian climate zone
Action	Cool	Temperate	Subtropical	Tropical	Arid
Sow	Sep, Oct Details Sow seed in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone. SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow two seeds per hole 25mm deep, 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 10-15 days. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Remove the weaker seedling from each grouping. Space them 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Water in and mulch with straw. NOTE: Watermelons can be trained up and over a trellis.	Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov Details Sow seed in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone. SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow two seeds per hole 25mm deep, 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 10-15 days. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Remove the weaker seedling from each grouping. Space them 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Water in and mulch with straw. NOTE: Watermelons can be trained up and over a trellis.	Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Sow seed in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone. SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow two seeds per hole 25mm deep, 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 10-15 days. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Remove the weaker seedling from each grouping. Space them 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Water in and mulch with straw. NOTE: Watermelons can be trained up and over a trellis.	Mar, Apr, May, Jun Details Sow seed in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone. SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow two seeds per hole 25mm deep, 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 10-15 days. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Remove the weaker seedling from each grouping. Space them 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Water in and mulch with straw. NOTE: Watermelons can be trained up and over a trellis.	Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Sow seed in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone. SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow two seeds per hole 25mm deep, 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 10-15 days. Alternatively, sow two seeds per 15-20cm high mound of compost-enriched soil. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall. Remove the weaker seedling from each grouping. Space them 70cm apart, in rows 1m apart. Water in and mulch with straw. NOTE: Watermelons can be trained up and over a trellis.
Plant out	Nov Details Plant seedlings in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone.	Oct, Nov, Dec Details Plant seedlings in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone.	Jan, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Plant seedlings in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone.	Apr, May, Jun, Jul Details Plant seedlings in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone.	Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Plant seedlings in the months the grow guide lists for this climate zone.
Feed	Sep, Oct, Nov Details Keep moist and mulch with straw. Reduce watering when fruits start growing. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets montlhy. When 3-4 fruits are growing snip off the end of the vine to allow the plant to direct its energy into the fruit. Watermelon can be trained over a trellis or allowed to scramble over the ground. Place straw under developing fruit.	Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Keep moist and mulch with straw. Reduce watering when fruits start growing. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets montlhy. When 3-4 fruits are growing snip off the end of the vine to allow the plant to direct its energy into the fruit. Watermelon can be trained over a trellis or allowed to scramble over the ground. Place straw under developing fruit.	Jan, Feb, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Keep moist and mulch with straw. Reduce watering when fruits start growing. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets montlhy. When 3-4 fruits are growing snip off the end of the vine to allow the plant to direct its energy into the fruit. Watermelon can be trained over a trellis or allowed to scramble over the ground. Place straw under developing fruit.	Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul Details Keep moist and mulch with straw. Reduce watering when fruits start growing. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets montlhy. When 3-4 fruits are growing snip off the end of the vine to allow the plant to direct its energy into the fruit. Watermelon can be trained over a trellis or allowed to scramble over the ground. Place straw under developing fruit.	Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Details Keep moist and mulch with straw. Reduce watering when fruits start growing. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets montlhy. When 3-4 fruits are growing snip off the end of the vine to allow the plant to direct its energy into the fruit. Watermelon can be trained over a trellis or allowed to scramble over the ground. Place straw under developing fruit.
Prune	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown
Pest check	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown	No sourced timing currently shown
Harvest	12–14 wks after sowingRelative Details Harvest from 12-14 weeks. Identify if fruit is ripe by checking the underside, which should be cream or yellow. When tapped, ripe fruit makes a hollow sound. Also check the tiny tendril near the fruit. When this is brown and dried up, the watermelon is usually ready to eat.	12–14 wks after sowingRelative Details Harvest from 12-14 weeks. Identify if fruit is ripe by checking the underside, which should be cream or yellow. When tapped, ripe fruit makes a hollow sound. Also check the tiny tendril near the fruit. When this is brown and dried up, the watermelon is usually ready to eat.	12–14 wks after sowingRelative Details Harvest from 12-14 weeks. Identify if fruit is ripe by checking the underside, which should be cream or yellow. When tapped, ripe fruit makes a hollow sound. Also check the tiny tendril near the fruit. When this is brown and dried up, the watermelon is usually ready to eat.	12–14 wks after sowingRelative Details Harvest from 12-14 weeks. Identify if fruit is ripe by checking the underside, which should be cream or yellow. When tapped, ripe fruit makes a hollow sound. Also check the tiny tendril near the fruit. When this is brown and dried up, the watermelon is usually ready to eat.	12–14 wks after sowingRelative Details Harvest from 12-14 weeks. Identify if fruit is ripe by checking the underside, which should be cream or yellow. When tapped, ripe fruit makes a hollow sound. Also check the tiny tendril near the fruit. When this is brown and dried up, the watermelon is usually ready to eat.

Only sourced growing and timing guidance is shown.

Zone notes

Cool: Plenty of sun; room to spread or a trellis to train them onto
Temperate: Plenty of sun; room to spread or a trellis to train them onto
Subtropical: Plenty of sun; room to spread or a trellis to train them onto
Tropical: Plenty of sun; room to spread or a trellis to train them onto
Arid: Plenty of sun; room to spread or a trellis to train them onto

About this data

This schedule is part of GrowCal's preview horticultural dataset — useful as general guidance, and still being validated. Conditions vary with your soil, aspect, frost and variety. Read more on the data & methodology page, or send us a correction.

Other plants in the GrowCal dataset, mostly from the same category.

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