When to plant watermelons in Gatineau: 11 June – 23 July

In Gatineau, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 23 April to 25 June; plant into a greenhouse from 21 May to 23 July; plant out into open ground from 11 June to 23 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Orleans Prestige Garden Sheds (garden centre, 13 km) and La ferme Bee Api (farm supply, 13 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Gatineau: soil, season and weather

In Gatineau the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 30 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 11 June, 42 days later.

Last spring frost	30 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	11 June, 42 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	21 May – 23 July; May outside: 7.5 °C at night, 18.8 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	1 November, 143 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 August – 20 September
Days left for picking	84
Daylight	14:50 on 14 May, 15:37 on 11 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, September, has 9 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Gatineau: care after planting

Planted on 11 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

11 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 Gatineau during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 26.4 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (14.3 °C) and November (5.2 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from -1.5 °C to 16.7 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	23.5	13.3	114	12	15:39
July	26.4	16.7	119	13	15:21
August	25	16.2	119	13	14:09
September	21.3	12.3	73	9	12:35
October	14.3	6.4	105	12	11:01
November	5.2	-1.5	81	13	9:32

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Gatineau, Montreal is 12 days earlier and Montpelier 9 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Ottawa	7 km	11 June – 23 July	same day
Montreal	166 km	30 May – 23 July	12 days earlier
Burlington	225 km	1 June – 25 July	10 days earlier
Trois-Rivières	262 km	31 May – 20 July	11 days earlier
Syracuse (United States)	272 km	31 May – 28 July	11 days earlier
Montpelier	282 km	20 June – 8 July	9 days later

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Gatineau

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 June to 23 July (from 21 May to 23 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 23 April to 25 June. Within 15 km of Gatineau OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 7 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Lindsay Landscape — garden centre
Russell Road 3968 · 13 km
Orleans Landscaping — garden centre
St. Joseph Boulevard 2473 · 14 km
Orleans Prestige Garden Sheds — garden centre
St. Joseph Boulevard 2174 · 13 km
La ferme Bee Api — farm supply
Route du Carrefour 1895, J8N 7T5 Val-des-Monts · 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.

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