When to plant watermelons in Ithaca: 31 May – 30 July

In Ithaca, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 12 April to 2 July; plant into a greenhouse from 10 May to 30 July; plant out into open ground from 31 May to 30 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Indian Creek Farm (farm shop, 5 km) and Early Bird Greenhouse Sales (farm shop, 7 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Ithaca: soil, season and weather

In Ithaca the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 28 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 31 May, 33 days later.

Last spring frost	28 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	31 May, 33 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	10 May – 30 July; May outside: 8.7 °C at night, 19.8 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	8 November, 161 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	29 July – 27 September
Days left for picking	102
Daylight	14:08 on 3 May, 15:03 on 31 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, November, has 14 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Ithaca: care after planting

Planted on 31 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

31 May — 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 Ithaca during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 27.6 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (16.5 °C) and November (8.6 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 1.4 °C to 17.5 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19.8	8.7	97	14	14:35
June	24.7	13.9	99	13	15:16
July	27.6	17.5	115	13	15:00
August	26	16.8	122	13	13:56
September	22.7	13.5	86	10	12:32
October	16.5	8.1	116	13	11:07
November	8.6	1.4	85	14	9:48

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Ithaca, Allentown is 8 days earlier and Rochester 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Syracuse (United States)	74 km	31 May – 28 July	same day
Rochester	121 km	2 June – 3 August	2 days later
Buffalo	201 km	29 May – 1 August	2 days earlier
Allentown	222 km	23 May – 25 July	8 days earlier
Albany	226 km	30 May – 28 July	1 day earlier
Harrisburg	243 km	25 May – 2 August	6 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Ithaca

Buy plants ready to set out from 31 May to 30 July (from 10 May to 30 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 12 April to 2 July. Within 15 km of Ithaca OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 3 plant nurseries, 6 markets and 3 farm shops (collected 29 October 2026).

People's Market of Lansing — market
Atwater Road 45, 14882 Lansing · 10 km
Indian Creek Farm — farm shop
Trumansburg Road 1408, 14850 Ithaca · 5 km
Early Bird Greenhouse Sales — farm shop
Elmira Road, 14867 Newfield · 7 km
Der Rosenmeister Nursery — plant nursery
4 km · derrosenmeister.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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