When to plant watermelons in Nottingham: 20 June – 14 August

In Nottingham, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 2 May to 17 July; plant into a greenhouse from 30 May to 14 August; plant out into open ground from 20 June to 14 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Spring Farm Shop (farm shop, 7 km) and Bramcote Farm Shop (farm shop, 7 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Nottingham: soil, season and weather

In Nottingham the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 7 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 20 June, 74 days later.

Last spring frost	7 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	20 June, 74 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	30 May – 14 August; May outside: 7.8 °C at night, 16.7 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	23 November, 156 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	18 August – 12 October
Days left for picking	97
Daylight	16:12 on 23 May, 16:55 on 20 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 12 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Nottingham: care after planting

Planted on 20 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

20 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 Nottingham 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	19.7	11.1	67	11	16:53
July	21.4	13	73	14	16:27
August	21	12.8	62	12	14:48
September	18.4	10.6	72	12	12:45
October	14.3	8.2	80	14	10:41
November	9.8	4.5	71	12	8:43

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

1 of the nearest cities share Nottingham's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Derby	22 km	22 June – 13 August	2 days later
Leicester	34 km	21 June – 10 August	1 day later
Lincoln (United Kingdom)	51 km	25 June – 10 August	5 days later
Sheffield	52 km	29 June – 13 August	9 days later
Coventry	65 km	21 June – 8 August	1 day later
Stoke-on-Trent	70 km	20 June – 6 August	same day

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Nottingham

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 June to 14 August (from 30 May to 14 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 May to 17 July. Within 15 km of Nottingham OpenStreetMap lists 34 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 plant nurseries, 10 markets and 12 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Trinity Farm Organics — farm shop
Awsworth Lane, NG16 2RZ Nottingham · 10 km · trinityfarm.co.uk
Spring Farm Shop — farm shop
Nottingham Road, NG9 3PQ Nottingham · 7 km · springfarmshop.co.uk
Bramcote Farm Shop — farm shop
Derby Road 199, NG9 3JA Nottingham · 7 km
Trinity Farm — farm shop
Phoenix Mills, NG10 2AA Nottingham · 10 km · trinityfarm.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.

Questions