Select your climate zone Australia - cool/mountain Australia - sub-tropical Australia - temperate Australia - tropical New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate What is my climate zone?

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
T								S	S	S	T

(Best months for planting Watermelon in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays. T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings.

• Harvest in 9-14 weeks.
• Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 21°C and 35°C.
• Space plants: 60-75cm

Large, round or oval, smooth green skinned, delicious, sweet pink fleshed melon.

Some have stripes on the skin.

Some varieties will produce fruit up to 14 Kg (31 US pounds).

Harvest when the part in contact with the ground is turning yellow and the fruit sounds hollow when tapped.

Watermelon needs plenty of room to grow as it sends out long vines

Needs a long warm season to mature.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Watermelon

Cut up and eat in slices.
Use to make fruit drinks.
Use in fruit salads.

Your comments and tips

07 Jul 10 Noo Noo (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)

Hi all, I want to grow watermelon on the south coast of the UK as I have aquired a plot of land for an allotment. I want to grow the pink flesh and green outer type but as I can not import seeds from Australia I am taking them from a shop purchased melon from god knows where and want to know what to do with the seeds do I put them in water or dry them and put them in the airing cupboard (I know that sounds silly) but you would be suprised what can be grown in one. any ideas. Thanks

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09 Jul 10 Natalie (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

If the melon is a non hybrid I don't think you would have any problems. I would buy a melon from an organic grocer, would then hopefully be not a hybrid. Dry the seeds out before planting. Plant where you want it to grow. And cross fingers. Would love to hear if you have any success. I have grown melons from seeds - they just seem to pop up out of the compost. So don't see why it wouldn't work, but you never know.

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11 Jul 10 Noo Noo (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)

Thanks Natalie will try the organic ones and also the seeds I have and yes crossed fingers. If I manage to do it I will let you know. Cheers.

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01 Jun 10 Andrea (Australia - tropical climate)

Watermelons are ready to be picked when there the patch on which they were sitting on the ground is white. I learnt this in a very very embarrassing way. I had a job picking melons a farm in Israel. There was an enormous melon lying temptingly in the field and we were all watching it and waiting for it to ripen. One day I knocked on it and heard this hollow sound and declared it was ready to pick. The boss went along with me (but knowing better). He let me open the melon. It was not ripe. It was white inside. Sweetish but simply not ripe. I learnt my lesson.

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18 Mar 10 Jess (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi, we planted our watermelons around october and we are now harvesting large and small fruit. we are first time growers and were told we wouldn't grow any. the largest and first to be picked, we left on the vine as i was told to pick them when the short vine attached to them dies, but the fruit caved in and rotted before that happened. since then we have picked another and sat it aside for a week and it's nice, red and very tasty! it was only finding this site and others alike that we know what to do and will experiment with the many many others that are nearly ready. also, how will we know when pumpkins are ready to harvest? are they similar?

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14 Mar 10 neil fardell (Australia - tropical climate)

i have just picked a watermelon which was planted in october, the nearest leaf had died and it sounds hollow. however upon cutting it open i have found it to be yellow. it still tastes okay but is it ripe or over ripe? i've got two others that fit the bill of being ready but now i'm not sure. should i wait longer? they formed about a week or two after the one i just picked. also the first one i picked about a month ago had split and was mouldy inside when i cut it open....... confused.

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04 Mar 10 dene (Australia - temperate climate)

hi i dont the variety of hand but my watermellons are growing well to about football size but are splitting very badly. does anyone know why? they are on retic getting water every morning.

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24 Feb 10 lisa rias (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

HI MY WATER MELONS ARE GROWING EVERYWHERE BUT THEY HAVENT PRODUCED ANY FRUIT ONLY SMALL ONES WHICH DIE. DO THEY NEED MORE WATER?

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23 Feb 10 susan (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

our plants are growing everywhere but now some leaves have gone lighter in colour. What does this mean?

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20 Feb 10 Jo (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I am growing a variety of watermelon called "red rocket". These are supposed to be, according to the tag, large oblong-shaped with a high yield, however, the only 2 fruit I have growing are just the size of small rockmelons and appear to have stopped growing. The oldest of these 2 is about 5 weeks now. Are my expectations of what is called large fruit and high yield too high, or do I need to do something to help them along. I have recently used Dynamic Lifter For Fruit and Citrus in the patch but am unsure if this will help. The other problem is that, although the plant is very vigorous and has plenty of flowers, it doesn't seem to fruit, even though I've used the brush trick to help pollinate. The only thing I can think of is that it doesn't get a lot of sun, but if this was the problem would that not also affect the quantity of flowers and health of the vine?

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