When to plant watermelons in Antwerp: 31 May – 13 August

In Antwerp, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 12 April to 16 July; plant into a greenhouse from 10 May to 13 August; plant out into open ground from 31 May to 13 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Kasserol (farm shop, 3 km) and 't Klepperke (farm shop, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Antwerp: soil, season and weather

In Antwerp the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 4 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 31 May, 57 days later.

Last spring frost	4 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	31 May, 57 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	10 May – 13 August; May outside: 9 °C at night, 19 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	22 November, 175 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	29 July – 11 October
Days left for picking	116
Daylight	14:54 on 3 May, 16:13 on 31 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 12 rainy days

The same dates in Antwerp hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini and Pumpkin.

Watermelon in Antwerp: care after planting

Planted on 31 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

31 May — feed: balanced (NPK)

Pests and diseases of watermelon to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Antwerp during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 23.6 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (15.8 °C) and November (10.2 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.7 °C to 14.4 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19	9	69	11	15:33
June	22.7	13.1	76	11	16:33
July	23.3	14.1	72	12	16:09
August	23.6	14.4	59	12	14:38
September	20.6	11.8	66	11	12:42
October	15.8	9.2	80	13	10:46
November	10.2	4.7	74	13	8:56

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Antwerp, Hasselt is 1 day earlier and Bruges 15 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Brussels	41 km	8 June – 13 August	8 days later
Leuven	43 km	31 May – 13 August	same day
Ghent	51 km	31 May – 15 August	same day
Hasselt	73 km	30 May – 9 August	1 day earlier
Bruges	82 km	15 June – 21 August	15 days later
Namur	90 km	11 June – 6 August	11 days later

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Antwerp

Buy plants ready to set out from 31 May to 13 August (from 10 May to 13 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 12 April to 16 July. Within 15 km of Antwerp OpenStreetMap lists 32 garden centres, 5 plant nurseries, 12 markets and 10 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Wekelijkse Vrijdagmarkt — market
Fri 08:30–12:00 · 10 km
Kasserol — farm shop
Regine Beerplein 1 b16, 2018 · Wed–Fri 11:30–15:00 · 3 km · kasserol.be
't Klepperke — farm shop
Rijstraat 30, 2940 · Sat 09:00–17:00 || "na telefonische afspraak" · 11 km · tklepperke.be
De Schutter Hoevezuivel — farm shop
Starrenhoflaan 19, 2950 · Wed, Fri 13:00–17:00; Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 09:00–13:00; Mon, Tue, Thu closed · 12 km · deschutterhoevezuivel.be

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

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