When to plant watermelons in Sheffield: 29 June – 13 August

In Sheffield, watermelon: sow for seedlings from 11 May to 16 July; plant into a greenhouse from 8 June to 13 August; plant out into open ground from 29 June to 13 August.

Watermelon in Sheffield: soil, season and weather

In Sheffield the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 15 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the watermelon card — only around 29 June, 75 days later.

Last spring frost	15 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	29 June, 75 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	8 June – 13 August; June outside: 10.4 °C at night, 18.3 °C by day; card 18–35 °C
First autumn frost	22 November, 146 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	59
First harvest, if planted in this window	27 August – 11 October
Days left for picking	87
Daylight	16:38 on 1 June, 16:58 on 29 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 5 days; the driest month, August, has 13 rainy days

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

Watermelon in Sheffield: care after planting

Planted on 29 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

29 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 Sheffield during the watermelon season

No month of the season averages above the watermelon card's 18–35 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 19.8 °C. Months that stay below 18 °C even by day on average: September (17 °C), October (13.2 °C) and November (9 °C). Nights average below 18 °C in every month of the season, from 4.4 °C to 12.5 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	18.3	10.4	78	13	16:59
July	19.8	12.5	79	15	16:32
August	19.3	12.4	68	13	14:51
September	17	10.4	84	13	12:45
October	13.2	7.9	95	15	10:40
November	9	4.4	88	14	8:40

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Watermelon in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant watermelon earlier than Sheffield; the closest date is in Manchester, 1 day earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Leeds	47 km	25 June – 14 August	4 days earlier
Bradford	49 km	27 June – 9 August	2 days earlier
Derby	51 km	22 June – 13 August	7 days earlier
Manchester	52 km	28 June – 5 August	1 day earlier
Nottingham	52 km	20 June – 14 August	9 days earlier
Stoke-on-Trent	61 km	20 June – 6 August	9 days earlier

Where to buy watermelon plants and seeds near Sheffield

Buy plants ready to set out from 29 June to 13 August (from 8 June to 13 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 11 May to 16 July. Within 15 km of Sheffield OpenStreetMap lists 23 garden centres, 2 plant nurseries, 11 markets and 8 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

High Riggs Nursery — garden centre
6 km
Ferndale — garden centre
7 km
Dore Moor Nursery — garden centre
7 km
Bents Green Nurseries — plant nursery
5 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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