When to plant melons
In zone 8, most of the UK: plant out from May to June. First harvest about 90 days later.
Growing stages
Melons: calendar by hardiness zone
| Zone | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | ||||||
| Zone 7 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | ||||||
| Zone 8reference | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | ||||||
| Zone 9 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting, Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | |||||
| Zone 10 | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting | Sowing or planting, Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest |
- Zone 6
- −23 to −18 °C (−10 to 0 °F): high mountains
- Zone 7
- −18 to −12 °C (0 to 10 °F): upland Britain, eastern France, the Alps
- Zone 8
- −12 to −7 °C (10 to 20 °F): most of the UK and France
- Zone 9
- −7 to −1 °C (20 to 30 °F): south-west England, Brittany, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts
- Zone 10
- −1 to 4 °C (30 to 40 °F): Isles of Scilly, the French Riviera, coastal Corsica
Indicative months. A cold year or a garden at altitude shifts everything by a month; watch the frosts too.
Melons in practice
- Spacing
- 100 cm along the row, 100 cm between rows
- Sun
- full sun
- Watering
- moderate
- Difficulty
- demanding
- In a pot
- no
- Support
- none
- Family
- Cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae)
Good companions for melons
Keep apart
Questions about melons
When to plant melons?
In zone 8: plant out from May to June. The four other zones are in the calendar above; at altitude or after a long winter, aim for the end of the window.
How long until harvest?
About 90 days after planting in zone 8, then the harvest lasts about 30 days.
How far apart?
100 cm between plants along the row and 100 cm between rows.
Can you grow melons in a pot?
Open ground is better: the crop needs room and depth that a pot does not give.
What to plant nearby?
Good companions: radish and sweet corn. Keep apart: potato.
Updated 20 October 2026, Hortipix catalogue version 1. Windows still being checked against Le Guide Clause, Vilmorin and Terre vivante (RHS and Cornell for the UK and the US), compared with OpenFarm (CC0). They remain indicative.