Melon

Cucumis melo

In a typical UK garden, sow indoors late March to mid-April, sow outside early May to late May, plant out mid-May to early June, and harvest late July to mid-October.

When to sow, plant and harvest

Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.

Sow indoors
late March to mid-April
Sow outdoors
early May to late May
Plant out
mid-May to early June
Harvest
late July to mid-October

Growing facts

Spacing
90 cm apart, rows 90 cm apart
Square foot
1 per 2 squares (30 cm squares)
Sowing depth
2 cm
Ready in
70 to 90 days from planting out
Grows to
30 cm
Hardiness
Tender: killed by any frost
Sun
Full sun
Crops for
About 4 weeks

Growing tip

Limit each plant to about four fruits, and water less as they ripen for sweeter flesh.

Neighbours

Squashes are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works

More squashes

Where these figures come from

Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For melon, we used:

Grow melon with VegLog

Add melon to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.