When to plant watermelon in Tampa

In Tampa, typical last spring frost is January 15 and typical first fall frost is January 8. Typical last spring frost: January 15. Watermelon in Tampa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 278 days covers the 70–100 days this plant usually needs.

Watermelon

How to grow Watermelon Tampa climate Weekly temperatures and windows

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Tight fit in a cold frame

Watermelon in Tampa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 278 days covers the 70–100 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantFebruary 13 – April 9

Harvest: April 24 – July 18
Season vs crop: 278 grow days vs 70–100 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): January 15 – January 8

Watermelon in Tampa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 278 days covers the 70–100 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Direct sow
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row278

Days to harvest70–100 days from seed

Feb 13 – Apr 9

Direct sow

Apr 10 – Apr 23

Grow outdoors

Apr 24 – Jul 18

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Direct sow	Feb 13 – Apr 9	Plant outdoors in this window.
Grow outdoors	Apr 10 – Apr 23	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	Apr 24 – Jul 18	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Direct sow
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost (35 seasons (1991–2025)). Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (21 – 35 °C70 – 95 °F21 – 35 °C (70 – 95 °F)) and tolerable (16 – 38 °C61 – 100 °F16 – 38 °C (61 – 100 °F)) ranges.

Ideal / plantable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot
Outside window

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules; growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostJanuary 15

Low-risk last spring frostJanuary 30

Typical first fall frostJanuary 8

Low-risk first fall frostDecember 31

Frost-free days357.5

Outdoor sow dateFebruary 13

Direct sow windowFebruary 13 – April 9

Suitable growing windowFebruary 13 – November 17 (278 days)

Expected harvestApril 24 – July 18

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 21 – 35 °C70 – 95 °F21 – 35 °C (70 – 95 °F).
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 16 – 38 °C61 – 100 °F16 – 38 °C (61 – 100 °F).
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Tampa, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 70–100 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. Air ratings on the weekly chart colour only weeks inside that same window — see weekly temperatures and windows.

Other plants for Tampa

Calculated by Plan & Plant. Method. Data 35 seasons (1991–2025).

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics.

Based on 35 years (1991–2025) of ERA5-Land data from Open-Meteo, for an area of about 10 km. Typical dates, not a guarantee.

Dates for Tampa use ERA5-Land cell 27.95, -82.46. How we calculated this · Algorithm 2026-10-season-10.

Report a problem