When to plant watermelons in Brighton: 20 July – 22 August

In Brighton, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 1 June to 25 July; plant into a greenhouse from 29 June to 22 August; plant out into open ground from 20 July to 22 August.

Watermelon in Brighton: soil, season and weather

In Brighton the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 8 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 20 July, 162 days later.

Last spring frost	8 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	20 July, 162 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	29 June – 22 August; June outside: 13.8 °C at night, 16.5 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	1 December, 134 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	17 September – 20 October
Days left for picking	75
Daylight	16:31 on 22 June, 15:54 on 20 July
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 10 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Brighton: care after planting

Planted on 20 July: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

20 July — 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 Brighton during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 19.2 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (15.8 °C), November (12.3 °C) and December (10.3 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 7.6 °C to 16.5 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
July	18.6	16	53	10	16:06
August	19.2	16.5	63	10	14:36
September	18.2	15.1	87	11	12:42
October	15.8	12.9	131	15	10:47
November	12.3	9.3	121	15	8:59
December	10.3	7.6	106	16	7:59

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant watermelon earlier than Brighton; the closest date is in Oxford, 27 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Portsmouth	67 km	16 June – 22 August	34 days earlier
London	76 km	12 June – 14 August	38 days earlier
Southampton	89 km	17 June – 14 August	33 days earlier
Oxford	129 km	23 June – 14 August	27 days earlier
Le Havre	150 km	11 June – 2 September	39 days earlier
Cambridge	153 km	17 June – 15 August	33 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Brighton

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 July to 22 August (from 29 June to 22 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 June to 25 July. Within 15 km of Brighton OpenStreetMap lists 18 garden centres, 6 plant nurseries, 5 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Goldcliffe — garden centre
15 km
Rushfields Garden Centre — garden centre
9 km
Wild Flower Conservation Society — plant nursery
5 km · wildflowerconservationsociety.com
Rushmear Nursery — plant nursery
15 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