Round Watermelon Seeds 20 Seeds

The Round Watermelon is the classic summer melon, growing into a smooth, globe-shaped fruit with a deep green rind and crisp, sweet red flesh that is wonderfully refreshing on a hot day. Its rounded form makes it easy to handle and slice, and its juicy, sugary heart is perfect for fresh eating, chilled wedges, and cooling summer drinks — a heat-loving favourite that comes into its own in Egypt's warm season.

Planting

Watermelon is a warm-season crop and very sensitive to frost, so wait until the cold has fully passed and the soil is warm. Direct-seed one to two weeks after the last frost once the soil rises above about 21 C, or start transplants indoors roughly four to five weeks before moving them out — transplant only after frost danger is gone and the soil reaches 18-21 C. Sow seed about 1.3-2.5 cm deep, using roughly 2.5 cm when seeding into hills. The soil should be at least about 16-18 C at 10 cm depth, with 21-32 C being ideal for germination; at around 25 C seedlings emerge in about five days, while germination is very slow below 21 C. Give plants plenty of room: space rows about 1.8-2.4 m apart and plants about 0.9-1.8 m apart in the row, allowing roughly 2.2 m2 per plant; in hills, plant four to five seeds per hill with hills about 1.8-2.4 m apart. Choose a hot, sunny spot in full sun with about 8-10 hours of direct sunlight each day. In Egypt, the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt (Cairo, Alexandria) can be sown or transplanted from mid-February to April for a May-July harvest, with transplants started indoors in January to gain a few weeks; Upper Egypt (Minya, Asyut, Luxor, Aswan) warms earlier, so sowing can begin from late January to March for an April-June harvest. A late-summer crop sown in August for an October-November harvest is also possible in warm areas. Avoid sowing from November to January in the Delta, when the soil is too cool and occasional frost can kill seedlings.

Fertilizing

Feed before planting with a complete fertilizer: a 5-10-10 blend at about 1.5 kg per 100 m2, or a 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 blend at about 1.5 kg per 10 m2. Side-dress with nitrogen before the vines begin to run — for example 34-0-0 at about 0.5 kg per 30 m of row, or calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) at about 0.9 kg per 30 m — then give a second feed after bloom while the fruit is developing. Take care not to overdo the nitrogen, as excess delays fruiting and can cause hollow heart.

Care

Keep the soil uniformly moist but never saturated, watering deeply and infrequently at about 2.5-5 cm per week, ideally through a drip line or soaker hose. Good moisture matters most early on and during flowering and fruit set; in the final week before the fruit ripens, reduce or stop watering, since overwatering dilutes the flavour. Thin direct-seeded hills to about two strong plants per hill roughly a week after germination, or to a single plant per spot where individually spaced. Watermelons resent root disturbance, so start transplants in cells or pots and set them out while still small with the rootball intact, watering them in with a gentle starter or fish-emulsion solution that will not burn the tender roots. Watch for pests such as cucumber beetles (striped and spotted), squash bugs, aphids, spider mites, thrips, and caterpillars including rind worms, pickle worms, and cutworms; cucumber beetles do the most harm at the seedling and early stage and also spread disease, so use floating row covers (removed at flowering for pollination) or an approved insecticide such as pyrethrin. Common diseases include anthracnose, gummy stem blight, powdery and downy mildew, Fusarium wilt, cucurbit viruses, and root-knot nematodes — rotate your beds and do not plant watermelon or related cucurbits on the same ground for at least three years. Harvest when the curly tendril nearest the fruit stem turns brown and dries, the ground spot where the melon rests changes from greenish-white to a creamy yellow or orange, the rind loses its gloss and turns dull, and a flick or thump gives a dull, hollow sound rather than a high-pitched ring; this is typically about 35 days from fruit set and roughly 70-90 days from planting, depending on the variety.