When to plant watermelons in Dunedin: 3 December – 10 February

In Dunedin, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 15 October to 13 January; plant into a greenhouse from 12 November to 10 February; plant out into open ground from 3 December to 10 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Wal's Plant Land (garden centre, 13 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Dunedin: soil, season and weather

In Dunedin the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 26 October, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 3 December, 38 days later.

Last spring frost	26 October
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 December, 38 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	12 November – 10 February; November outside: 7.3 °C at night, 16.3 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	21 May, 170 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	31 January – 9 April
Days left for picking	111
Daylight	14:24 on 5 November, 15:29 on 3 December
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, May, has 11 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Dunedin: care after planting

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

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

3 December — 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 Dunedin during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, February, averages 18.9 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: March–May and December (12.3–17.5 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.6 °C to 10.1 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
December	17.5	8.9	134	20	15:42
January	18.6	10.1	113	15	15:20
February	18.9	10	87	13	13:58
March	17.5	8.9	72	13	12:28
April	14.8	6.7	74	11	10:49
May	12.3	4.6	61	11	9:26

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Dunedin, Christchurch is 2 days earlier and Nelson 17 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Queenstown	171 km	16 December – 8 February	13 days later
Timaru	175 km	19 December – 23 February	16 days later
Invercargill	176 km	4 December – 27 February	1 day later
Christchurch	310 km	1 December – 24 February	2 days earlier
Nelson	558 km	20 December – 11 March	17 days later
Blenheim	559 km	11 December – 19 February	8 days later

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Dunedin

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 December to 10 February (from 12 November to 10 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 15 October to 13 January. Within 15 km of Dunedin OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres and 1 market (collected 20 October 2026).

Wal's Plant Land — garden centre
Bush Road 109, 9024 Mosgiel · 13 km
Otago Farmer's Market — market
Anzac Avenue 5/27, 9016 Dunedin · Sat 08:00–12:30 · 1 km · otagofarmersmarket.org.nz
Nichols Garden Center — garden centre
3 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