Watermelon Care
Citrullus lanatus
A sprawling fruit vegetable that needs a long, hot, sunny summer and a wide area. It does best in light, sandy, quick-warming soil.
Monthly care calendar
Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.
- Watering: If there is no rain, water 1-2 times a week; the soil should not stay constantly wet.
- Fertilizing: Mix plenty of compost or well-rotted manure into the sowing site.
- General care: Once the soil has warmed to 18 °C, sow the seeds 2-3 cm deep or plant seedlings; leave 150-200 cm between planting stations.
- Frost risk: Cover young plants on cold nights.
- Watering: Water deeply at the base 2-3 times a week, in the early morning; do not water again until the soil surface has dried 2-3 cm down.
- Fertilizing: After fruit set, apply a potassium-rich fertilizer; stop fertilizing during the ripening period.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Place straw or a board under the fruits; fruit touching wet soil rots.
- Pests & diseases: Look for white, powdery spots on the leaves (powdery mildew). Thinning dense branches to increase airflow slows its spread.
- Watering: Reduce watering once the fruits have grown; during ripening, too much water dulls the flavor and causes the fruit to crack.
- Fertilizing: After fruit set, apply a potassium-rich fertilizer; stop fertilizing during the ripening period.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Harvest: Pick when the tendril (curly shoot) closest to the fruit stalk has dried and turned brown, the side touching the ground has turned yellow, and the fruit gives a dull sound when tapped.
- Pests & diseases: Look for white, powdery spots on the leaves (powdery mildew). Thinning dense branches to increase airflow slows its spread.
- Pests & diseases: In hot and dry weather, look on the undersides of the leaves for fine webbing and speckled yellowing (spider mites). Washing the leaves during the cool hours reduces their numbers.
- Watering: Water deeply at the base 2-3 times a week, in the early morning; do not water again until the soil surface has dried 2-3 cm down.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Harvest: Pick when the tendril (curly shoot) closest to the fruit stalk has dried and turned brown, the side touching the ground has turned yellow, and the fruit gives a dull sound when tapped.
- Pests & diseases: Look for white, powdery spots on the leaves (powdery mildew). Thinning dense branches to increase airflow slows its spread.
- Pests & diseases: In hot and dry weather, look on the undersides of the leaves for fine webbing and speckled yellowing (spider mites). Washing the leaves during the cool hours reduces their numbers.
- Watering: If there is no rain, water 1-2 times a week; the soil should not stay constantly wet.
- General care: Harvest: Pick when the tendril (curly shoot) closest to the fruit stalk has dried and turned brown, the side touching the ground has turned yellow, and the fruit gives a dull sound when tapped.
The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.
Want reminders for every plant in your garden? Our garden-care app with monthly task lists and frost alerts is currently available in Turkish; the English version is on the way.
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