When to plant watermelons in Oxford: 23 June – 14 August

In Oxford, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 5 May to 17 July; plant into a greenhouse from 2 June to 14 August; plant out into open ground from 23 June to 14 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Oxford Garden Centre (garden centre, 2 km) and Garden Centre by Homebase (inside The Range) (garden centre, 4 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Oxford: soil, season and weather

In Oxford the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 3 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 23 June, 81 days later.

Last spring frost	3 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	23 June, 81 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	2 June – 14 August; June outside: 11.3 °C at night, 20.4 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	23 November, 153 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	21 August – 12 October
Days left for picking	94
Daylight	16:07 on 26 May, 16:41 on 23 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 10 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Oxford: care after planting

Planted on 23 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

23 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 Oxford during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 22.2 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: October (14.9 °C) and November (10.4 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.7 °C to 13.3 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	20.4	11.3	59	11	16:39
July	22.2	13.3	64	12	16:15
August	21.8	13	55	10	14:41
September	19.2	10.9	69	11	12:43
October	14.9	8.4	83	12	10:45
November	10.4	4.7	77	12	8:52

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant watermelon earlier than Oxford; the closest date is in Coventry, 2 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Coventry	75 km	21 June – 8 August	2 days earlier
Worcester	82 km	19 June – 13 August	4 days earlier
London	82 km	12 June – 14 August	11 days earlier
Birmingham	93 km	20 June – 10 August	3 days earlier
Southampton	95 km	17 June – 14 August	6 days earlier
Bristol	98 km	19 June – 13 August	4 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Oxford

Buy plants ready to set out from 23 June to 14 August (from 2 June to 14 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 5 May to 17 July. Within 15 km of Oxford OpenStreetMap lists 10 garden centres, 6 markets and 8 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Oxford Garden Centre — garden centre
South Hinksey, OX1 5AR Oxford · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:30–16:30 · 2 km · gardencentreoxford.com
Silk Tree Sculptural Plants — garden centre
Ladder Hill, OX33 1HY Oxford · 8 km · silktree.co.uk
Mill View Garden Centre — garden centre
Ladder Hill, OX33 1HY Oxford · 8 km · millviewgardencentre.co.uk
Garden Centre by Homebase (inside The Range) — garden centre
Mon–Sat 09:00–20:00; Sun 10:30–16:30 · 4 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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