When to plant watermelons in Besançon: 3 June – 9 August

In Besançon, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 15 April to 12 July; plant into a greenhouse from 13 May to 9 August; plant out into open ground from 3 June to 9 August.

Watermelon in Besançon: soil, season and weather

In Besançon the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 12 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 3 June, 52 days later.

Last spring frost	12 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 June, 52 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	13 May – 9 August; May outside: 9.5 °C at night, 18.7 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	18 November, 168 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	1 August – 7 October
Days left for picking	109
Daylight	14:40 on 6 May, 15:42 on 3 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 11 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Besançon: care after planting

Planted on 3 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

3 June — 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 Besançon during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 25.7 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (16.7 °C) and November (10.2 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 3.7 °C to 15.6 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	24	14.3	113	14	15:54
July	25.6	15.5	87	12	15:34
August	25.7	15.6	78	11	14:17
September	21.5	12.2	87	12	12:37
October	16.7	8.7	118	13	10:56
November	10.2	3.7	118	15	9:22

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Besançon, Dijon is 3 days earlier and Fribourg 18 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Dijon	74 km	31 May – 10 August	3 days earlier
Neuchâtel	75 km	6 June – 19 August	3 days later
Lausanne	93 km	19 June – 11 August	16 days later
Fribourg	99 km	21 June – 28 July	18 days later
Mulhouse	113 km	1 June – 8 August	2 days earlier
Bern	113 km	21 June – 25 July	18 days later

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Besançon

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 June to 9 August (from 13 May to 9 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 15 April to 12 July. Within 15 km of Besançon OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 7 markets and 11 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Marché couvert — market
6 km
Marché de Palente — market
2 km
Aux Monts Fermiers — farm shop
3 km · auxmontsfermiers.fr
Le Fourneau — farm shop
13 km

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.

Questions