When to plant watermelons in Leicester: 21 June – 10 August

In Leicester, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 3 May to 13 July; plant into a greenhouse from 31 May to 10 August; plant out into open ground from 21 June to 10 August.

Watermelon in Leicester: soil, season and weather

In Leicester the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 20 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 21 June, 62 days later.

Last spring frost	20 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	21 June, 62 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	31 May – 10 August; May outside: 7.6 °C at night, 16.5 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	19 November, 151 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	19 August – 8 October
Days left for picking	92
Daylight	16:11 on 24 May, 16:52 on 21 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 11 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Leicester: care after planting

Planted on 21 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

21 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 Leicester during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 21.4 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (14.3 °C) and November (9.8 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.5 °C to 13 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	19.6	11	65	11	16:50
July	21.4	13	72	13	16:24
August	21.1	12.7	58	11	14:46
September	18.5	10.6	69	12	12:44
October	14.3	8.2	76	13	10:42
November	9.8	4.5	70	12	8:46

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Leicester, Nottingham is 1 day earlier and Lincoln (United Kingdom) 4 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nottingham	34 km	20 June – 14 August	1 day earlier
Coventry	36 km	21 June – 8 August	same day
Derby	39 km	22 June – 13 August	1 day later
Birmingham	54 km	20 June – 10 August	1 day earlier
Lincoln (United Kingdom)	77 km	25 June – 10 August	4 days later
Stoke-on-Trent	83 km	20 June – 6 August	1 day earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Leicester

Buy plants ready to set out from 21 June to 10 August (from 31 May to 10 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 3 May to 13 July. Within 15 km of Leicester OpenStreetMap lists 14 garden centres, 5 plant nurseries, 4 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

James Coles & Sons (Nurseries) Ltd — plant nursery
9 km
Leicester Market — market
1 km
Roots Farm Shop — farm shop
6 km
Stonehurst Farm Shop — farm shop
10 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