When to plant watermelons in Inverness: 17 July – 4 August

In Inverness, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 29 May to 7 July; plant into a greenhouse from 26 June to 4 August; plant out into open ground from 17 July to 4 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Howdens Garden Centre (garden centre, 2 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Inverness: soil, season and weather

In Inverness the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 1 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 17 July, 77 days later.

Last spring frost	1 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	17 July, 77 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	26 June – 4 August; June outside: 9.4 °C at night, 17 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	13 November, 119 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	14 September – 2 October
Days left for picking	60
Daylight	18:01 on 19 June, 17:18 on 17 July
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, September, has 15 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Inverness: care after planting

Planted on 17 July: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

17 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 Inverness during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 18.5 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: August–November (8.1–17.9 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 3 °C to 11.3 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
July	18.5	11.3	90	16	17:24
August	17.9	11	86	15	15:20
September	15.8	9.1	80	15	12:52
October	12.1	6.5	111	17	10:26
November	8.1	3	85	16	8:03

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Inverness, Edinburgh is 11 days earlier and Dundee 4 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Perth (United Kingdom)	129 km	19 July – 2 August	2 days later
Aberdeen	133 km	19 July – 11 August	2 days later
Dundee	135 km	21 July – 3 August	4 days later
Stirling	152 km	11 July – 31 July	6 days earlier
Glasgow	180 km	21 July – 2 August	4 days later
Edinburgh	181 km	6 July – 31 July	11 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Inverness

Buy plants ready to set out from 17 July to 4 August (from 26 June to 4 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 29 May to 7 July. Within 15 km of Inverness OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres, 1 plant nursery and 4 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Robertson's The Larder — farm shop
14 km · robertsonsbeauly.com
Connage Express — farm shop
14 km
McLeod Farm Centre — farm shop
15 km
Howdens Garden Centre — garden centre
Stoneyfield Road, IV2 7PA Inverness · Mon–Wed 09:00–18:00; Thu 09:00–19:30; Fri, Sat 09:00–18:00; Sun 10:00–18:00 · 2 km · klondyke.co.uk

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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