Watermelon Long Gray Seeds — Citrullus lanatus

Long Grey-green Melons with Sweet Red Flesh

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) stands out with its elongated fruit, pale grey-green rind and sweet red flesh. Cut into generous wedges for sharing on a warm afternoon, or chill cubes for a refreshing summer fruit salad.

This is a vigorous, trailing annual that needs room to spread and a long, warm season to ripen its fruit. Give it your warmest sheltered spot, with covered growing worth considering where summers are cooler or shorter.

Why Gardeners Love It

• 🍉 Sweet red flesh — refreshing fruit for summer eating
• 💚 Distinctive pale rind — grey-green skin with subtle natural mottling
• 🌿 Long, oblong fruit — a different shape from round watermelon varieties
• ☀️ Warm-season project — suited to a sunny, sheltered growing spot
• 🥣 Lovely served chilled — enjoy wedges, cubes and fresh fruit salads
• 🌱 Grow from seed — follow the vines from flower to harvest

Growing Tips for New Zealand

Sow under cover in spring, approximately 3–4 weeks before planting outside after frosts have passed. Direct sowing may suit warmer districts in late spring once the soil is thoroughly warm. Watermelons dislike cold nights and cold, wet soil.

Sow approximately 2 cm deep in individual pots of seed-raising mix. Keep moist but not waterlogged, ideally around 24–30°C for germination. Seeds commonly emerge in approximately 5–10 days under warm conditions, taking longer when cooler.

Harden off seedlings gradually and transplant while young, keeping roots undisturbed. Choose full sun and fertile, free-draining soil enriched with compost. Allow approximately 1–1.5 m between plants and plenty of additional space for trailing vines. In cooler districts, a greenhouse or tunnel may provide the extra warmth needed for ripening.

Water consistently at soil level, particularly during flowering and fruit growth. Avoid repeated drying out followed by heavy watering. Mulch to retain moisture while keeping the stem base clear, and feed as needed with a suitable fruiting-vegetable fertiliser.

Allow pollinating insects access to flowers, or hand-pollinate if growing under cover and fruit is not setting. Rest developing melons on a dry board or other support to keep them off damp soil.

Let fruit ripen on the vine, as watermelon does not become sweeter after picking. Look for several signs together: a creamy yellow ground spot, a duller rind, and drying of the tendril closest to the fruit. Do not rely on size or one sign alone. Cut the stem rather than pulling fruit from the vine, and harvest before autumn frosts.

What’s in the Packet

Each packet contains 10 Watermelon  seeds (Citrullus lanatus).

📄 Want to go even deeper? The CHBotanics Propagation from Seeds Manual — Professional Edition — a comprehensive digital PDF covering sowing times, germination, spacing, and much more across dozens of flower and vegetable species, is available as an instant download. 🌱😊