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Crop dates by place

Watermelon Planting Dates by State and Region

Published watermelon planting windows for 13 places, with the source and the caveats you need before you use them.

Across the 10 places in this data set, the planting window begins as early as Jan 1 (Central Florida) and as late as Dec 1 (South Florida). The middle of the range starts around May 1.

Watermelon windows by place
PlacePlantingHarvest
ArkansasPlanting: April - May (spring/summer crop)
Central FloridaPlanting: outdoor planting Jan–Mar
Central IllinoisPlanting: May 10 to June 15
Central MissouriPlanting: planting dates 5/1 to 5/20 (month/day)
Columbia and Snake River valleys, OregonPlanting: May
MinnesotaPlanting: mid may
North FloridaPlanting: outdoor planting Late Mar–Apr July–Aug
North MissouriPlanting: planting dates 5/10 to 5/20 (month/day)
Northern IllinoisPlanting: May 24 to July 1
South FloridaPlanting: outdoor planting Dec–Mar
South MissouriPlanting: planting dates 4/20 to 5/15 (month/day)
Southern IllinoisPlanting: April 28 to June 1
Western valleys (Portland, Roseburg, Medford), OregonPlanting: May

Calendar view

Watermelon calendar by place
ItemJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Arkansas plantingPlanting window in AprilPlanting window in May
Central Florida plantingPlanting window in JanuaryPlanting window in FebruaryPlanting window in March
Central Illinois plantingPlanting window in MayPlanting window in June
Central Missouri plantingTiming in table above
Columbia and Snake River valleys, Oregon plantingPlanting window in May
Minnesota plantingPlanting window in May
North Florida plantingPlanting window in MarchPlanting window in April
North Missouri plantingTiming in table above
Northern Illinois plantingPlanting window in MayPlanting window in JunePlanting window in July
South Florida plantingPlanting window in JanuaryPlanting window in FebruaryPlanting window in MarchPlanting window in December
South Missouri plantingTiming in table above
Southern Illinois plantingPlanting window in AprilPlanting window in MayPlanting window in June
Western valleys (Portland, Roseburg, Medford), Oregon plantingPlanting window in May
Frost-date caveat: ranges blur real differences inside a state or region. Use them to plan, then fit them to your last frost date, soil temperature and field conditions.

Related guides

Last reviewed: November 2026. Source: Arkansas Extension - Spring and Summer Vegetable Planting Dates.