What is summer without a watermelon – or five! Summer’s ultimate fruit crop! Nothing impresses like a well-grown watermelon.

Similar to melons, they are pretty intolerant of cultivation around the vines, so if you have to, do so carefully. Vine-ripened watermelons have the sweetest taste.

Best directly seeded after the last frost. There is really no need to start them indoors as they grow very quickly. Plant three seeds on a hill every 1.5-1.8 m in single rows.

Watermelons need loose fertile soil with lots of organic matter, full sun, and heat for a good crop. Best directly seeded after the last frost. There is really no need to start them indoors as they grow very quickly. Sow 3 seeds on a hill every 1.5-1.8m, then thin to the strongest seedling.

The sweetest, best-tasting melons have concentrated flavour because they are not overwatered. That said, a regular watering regime is important – a deep watering 3 times per week is adequate. Irregular watering causes fruits to crack and split, especially when the plants are dry for a number of days and then heavy rains set in. Plants watered regularly are more likely to tolerate heavy rains without splitting.