How to Plant & Grow Watermelons: Transplants, Seeds, Fertilizer, Soil Prep, Watering - All the Steps

June is for planting watermelons. I go over the key steps to plant and grow watermelon in your garden. Watering melons consistently is the key to success. I cover fertilizers, bed and soil preparation, and discuss temperatures watermelons prefer.

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[Gardeningchristine]

I love how relatable you make the gardening experience! Well thought out narrative with the excellent advice makes this a favorite channel!

[invadercem]

My goal is to work more on my fertilizer schedule this season. This helps! Thanks!

[fayewike]

I just had the thought of "I should grow some watermelon."
I have a memory from 1986 of getting watermelon seeds and my 2 kids going out to the backyard and digging into the soil, didn't add anything to the soil and dropping those seeds into that warm soil. The kids excitedly kept up with the watermelon watering in high expectations of the feast that awaited them! We harvested SO many!! We shared them with neighbors, family, and friends. We lived about 4 miles north of the Red River, must have been high quality soil!

[Gardeningchristine]

I have 3 huge wooden crates like for watermelons 1/2 full of last year’s leaves. I’ve got potatoes planted now. they’re flowering and I have had to fertilize a couple times. When they’re done I’m planning on planting squash, pumpkin, watermelon or cucumbers in. I water them like the rest of the garden and they’re doing great. I was planning on making them raised beds, but if this works out I’ll put the leaf mold on the garden and fill them up with leaves again in the fall. Rinse and repeat!

[j.r.glover]

When you love what you do it really shows. Immaculate presentation!

[jaytoney]

I don't have room in my garden right now for watermelon, but next spring I plan on adding Sugar Baby Watermelon, and cantaloupe to my garden. I am also planning on adding a few fruit trees, a Lapins cherry treen and two plum trees. Fall planting starts in two weeks for me. That means I have two raised beds that I need to get ready for planting, and I need to cut back my New Zealand Spinach again. The spinach loves the heat and humidity, and grows crazy fast. It is a good thing it tastes good, and the texture is good too.

[Donna_G]

Last year, I tried to grow those little watermelons. I had starter plants that I grew from seed indoors and seeds that I put right in the bed. I fed them and watered them as you described in the video. I got one little melon that was abou 2 1/5 inches across. It never got any bigger.

The first time I tried to grow watermelon was many years ago. I looked for seeds that had the shortest time until maturity. I believe it was Crimson Sweet. I started the seeds in paper pots indoors. By the time it was warm enough to plant outdoors. I had three seedlings.

The seedlings grew and spread. The garden was on an irrigation system; so, it got watered 3 times a week. I never feed the melons or gave them compost. They just grow. One vine did not produce. The other two did. However, of the two that grew melons, only one grew to maturity. It could have been an animal or a person who damaged the vine of one of my watermelons. I discovered that the vine had been broken.

I'm trying to grow the Crimson Sweet this year. This time, I've given it a granular fertilizer and Agrothrive. I've been watering the beds three times/week. the garden only got started right after June started. The city moved the garden to a new location. The beds are all new, the soil is new. There was not compost; but, I work with what I have available.

[trishbishop]

How fun! My watermelon plants are about the same size as the one you just planted! Now I can see and compare mine to yours and do what needs to be done timely! Thanks!

[debrasfrugallife]

My watermelon transplants never did well. I found direct sowing them was better . My 3rd year i still can't get over how well they are doing. I can't wait and hope to do more next year 🙏

[Cleophus]

Sweet looking beds. I've never anything but i started a compost pile and a watermelon sprout grew up out of the top of it. I guess i must've thrown some seeds in there when I put the rinds in there. Im gonna run with it and see how it goes. I was looking to use the compost for a plum tree but this is even cooler haha. Gonna use these tips thanks.

[huertomipequeñoeden]

Grate video...i was expecting this video from u...thanks for your tips

[pilsplease]

I do like Plant Tone the most when I buy organic just because its balanced for really everything and I just think the N-P-K is the most broad spectrum. For fruit trees and etc I use synthetic because its cheaper and they need more fertilizer and I have so many trees it costs too much to use organic at like 3 cups per tree.

10-10-10 or 15-15-15 whichever is cheaper at the farm shop and has sulfate of potash and not muriate which can damage some fruit trees that are chloride sensitive.

[metalrabbit]

I'm appreciate being able to find good instructions on how to grow watermelons. I also listen for information on how I can use what I already have around as well as what to buy in the future. I prefer soil amendments and fertilizers that can be used for different plants that I grow.

I'm using a 30 gallon storage tote as a planting container with an S1 pitcher for ongoing compost making in the container.
I have some stuff around including Black Kow, rabbit manure, Espoma TomatoTone, bone meal, 10-10-10 with minors. I get the impression from your video that bone meal isn't going to deliver enough phosphorus accessible to the watermelon.
If I don't want to buy triple phosphate and potassium right now. What else can I use? What else are adding triple phosphate and potassium good for growing?

Do you think that a self wicking plastic gallon jug buried in the planting container would help or harm?

[Harmonylovess]

Great video Gary!
The first melon that appears should I take it off? Some people refer to it as the “dummy melon” not sure how true that is

[equallywrong]

I had chipmunks digging up my shit so I bought rat traps and so far I have caught 5 or 6 chipmunks and 1 bird. Luckily, a hawk has recently made my garden part of his/her patrol area and the tiny 4 legged critters have been far and few between.

[BrightestBlessings]

I have found that when our starts were really mature before they were planted, I just needed to take off the blossoms, so they could start blank as they went in. They look great now. Our temperatures have gone wakadoodle! 2 weeks 80°F, then 2 weeks 36-40°F....now it is warming up again finally.

[shervin]

About how many melons can you get per sugar baby watermelon vine? I am trying to decide whether to plant it. Last year I had beautiful vines, but only one melon.( Full sun) I don't know if that's typical.

[billywarren]

But don’t forget the dryer it is the higher the suger content. Ie. lots of water lots of big unsweetened melons there a fine line. 1 inch a week while making is good

[cocoamoco]

My ground temperature is over 100 degrees. I’m hoping my cantaloupes and melons make it. I have one 12” watermelon but it’s getting elongated on the end and looks like a black spot on it. It’s been on there for at least 2 months but I’m not sure when to pull it. It is so HOT here in Texas- 3 digit temperatures and expected to continue - no rain either.