When to plant watermelons in Exeter: 23 June – 18 August

In Exeter, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 5 May to 21 July; plant into a greenhouse from 2 June to 18 August; plant out into open ground from 23 June to 18 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Bernaville Nurseries (garden centre, 4 km) and Exeter Garden Centre (garden centre, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Exeter: soil, season and weather

In Exeter the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 3 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 23 June, 81 days later.

Last spring frost	3 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	23 June, 81 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	2 June – 18 August; June outside: 11.2 °C at night, 19.5 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	27 November, 157 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	21 August – 16 October
Days left for picking	98
Daylight	15:58 on 26 May, 16:30 on 23 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 11 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Exeter: care after planting

Planted on 23 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

23 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 Exeter during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 21.2 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (15.1 °C) and November (11.2 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 5.6 °C to 12.9 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	19.5	11.2	73	12	16:28
July	21.2	12.9	61	11	16:04
August	20.8	12.8	65	11	14:35
September	18.3	11	80	12	12:41
October	15.1	8.9	102	14	10:48
November	11.2	5.6	104	14	9:00

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Exeter, Portsmouth is 7 days earlier and Plymouth 24 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Plymouth	58 km	17 July – 22 August	24 days later
Cardiff	88 km	24 June – 13 August	1 day later
Swansea	104 km	21 June – 22 August	2 days earlier
Bristol	104 km	19 June – 13 August	4 days earlier
Southampton	151 km	17 June – 14 August	6 days earlier
Portsmouth	172 km	16 June – 22 August	7 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Exeter

Buy plants ready to set out from 23 June to 18 August (from 2 June to 18 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 5 May to 21 July. Within 15 km of Exeter OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 2 markets and 13 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Lathy's Farmshop — farm shop
6 km
Quicke's Cheese Shop — farm shop
8 km
Bernaville Nurseries — garden centre
Three Horse Shoes, EX5 5EU Exeter · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:30–16:30 · 4 km · bernaville.co.uk
Exeter Garden Centre — garden centre
Sidmouth Road, EX5 1AE Exeter · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 6 km · britishgardencentres.com

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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