Watermelon

How to propagate watermelon

The squash and melon family wants warm soil and hates cold, wet feet, so wait until the ground is reliably warm and sow the big seeds an inch deep right in the garden. They sprawl, so give them room or a trellis. They're insect-pollinated and cross wildly within a species — keep that in mind if you ever want to save seed that comes true.

Growing watermelon in Texas

Give it full sun and sandy, warm soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.

This one thrives in heat that flattens other plants, so it earns its space through a Texas summer. Get it established before the worst of July, keep water steady, and it'll produce when little else will.

Once it's rooted in, this is a low-water plant — overwatering does more harm than drought here. Water deeply to establish, then back off and let it prove how tough it is.

Harvesting

Figure on roughly 70–90 before you're harvesting. Harvest at peak and keep harvesting — most vegetables produce harder the more you pick, and one left to over-mature tells the plant its job is done. The part you're after: flesh and rind.

Making more for free

Every seed we sell is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own from the best plants and it'll grow true next year. Let a few of your strongest plants finish and go to seed, dry it fully, and store it cool and dark. That's the whole point of heirlooms — buy once, grow forever.