When to plant watermelons in Palermo: 28 May – 13 September

In Palermo, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 9 April to 16 August; plant into a greenhouse from 7 May to 13 September; plant out into open ground from 28 May to 13 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Vivai Lo Porto (garden centre, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Watermelon in Palermo: soil, season and weather

In Palermo the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 23 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 28 May, 94 days later.

Last spring frost	23 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	28 May, 94 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 May – 13 September; May outside: 9.5 °C at night, 18.8 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	23 December, 209 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	26 July – 11 November
Days left for picking	150
Daylight	13:44 on 30 April, 14:33 on 28 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, July, has 3 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Palermo: care after planting

Planted on 28 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

28 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 Palermo during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 28.3 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: November (13.5 °C) and December (9.9 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 3.6 °C to 17.6 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	18.8	9.5	77	10	14:13
June	25.1	15	34	5	14:48
July	28.3	17.6	9	3	14:34
August	27.4	17.3	27	7	13:40
September	23	14.3	63	12	12:28
October	18.7	10.7	80	11	11:15
November	13.5	6.9	99	14	10:08
December	9.9	3.6	82	12	9:32

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

Around Palermo, Catania is 33 days earlier and Potenza 17 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Catania	167 km	from 25 April	33 days earlier
Messina	192 km	from 21 May	7 days earlier
Reggio Calabria	200 km	24 May – 9 September	4 days earlier
Cosenza	283 km	3 June – 21 August	6 days later
Salerno	310 km	7 June – 1 September	10 days later
Potenza	350 km	14 June – 16 August	17 days later

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Palermo

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 May to 13 September (from 7 May to 13 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 9 April to 16 August. Within 15 km of Palermo OpenStreetMap lists 11 garden centres, 3 plant nurseries, 12 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Area mercato rionale (mercoledì) — market
13 km
Mercato del Capo — market
1 km
Le meraviglie della frutta — farm shop
7 km
Vivai Lo Porto — garden centre
Corso Calatafimi 262, 90129 Palermo · Mon–Thu 07:30–18:00; Fri 07:00–14:00 · 3 km · vivailoporto.it

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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