When to plant watermelons in Bradford: 27 June – 9 August

In Bradford, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 9 May to 12 July; plant into a greenhouse from 6 June to 9 August; plant out into open ground from 27 June to 9 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Ludbrooks Farm Shop (farm shop, 6 km) and The Farm Shop (farm shop, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Bradford: soil, season and weather

In Bradford the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 15 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 27 June, 73 days later.

Last spring frost	15 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	27 June, 73 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	6 June – 9 August; June outside: 10.3 °C at night, 18.5 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	18 November, 144 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	25 August – 7 October
Days left for picking	85
Daylight	16:38 on 30 May, 17:04 on 27 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 12 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Bradford: care after planting

Planted on 27 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

27 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 Bradford during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 19.9 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: September (17 °C), October (13.2 °C) and November (9.1 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.1 °C to 12.3 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	18.5	10.3	77	13	17:04
July	19.9	12.3	79	15	16:36
August	19.4	12.2	67	12	14:54
September	17	10.1	82	13	12:46
October	13.2	7.6	96	15	10:38
November	9.1	4.1	79	14	8:37

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Bradford, Liverpool is 10 days earlier and Sheffield 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Leeds	13 km	25 June – 14 August	2 days earlier
Manchester	47 km	28 June – 5 August	1 day later
York	48 km	26 June – 5 August	1 day earlier
Sheffield	49 km	29 June – 13 August	2 days later
Stoke-on-Trent	89 km	20 June – 6 August	7 days earlier
Liverpool	92 km	17 June – 17 August	10 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Bradford

Buy plants ready to set out from 27 June to 9 August (from 6 June to 9 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 9 May to 12 July. Within 15 km of Bradford OpenStreetMap lists 25 garden centres, 3 plant nurseries, 14 markets and 13 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

The Farm Shop — farm shop
Roker Lane 89, LS28 9NB Pudsey · 6 km
B. Whiteley Farm Shop & Nursery — farm shop
Hough Side Road, LS28 9JJ Pudsey · 7 km · bwhiteleyfarmshop.co.uk
Ludbrooks Farm Shop — farm shop
Cottingley Cliffe Road, BD16 1UW · 6 km
Villa Farm Shop — farm shop
Bradley Road, HD2 2JX Huddersfield · 12 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.

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