Orlando Melon Mart
Season
Florida ships winter watermelon
Home gardeners in Central Florida plant January through March. Stores can sell Florida watermelon in months other states cannot. A July picnic melon may still be Florida, or it may be someone else’s field. Read the sticker. Cantaloupe stays a separate crop.
Yard versus truck
The vine in the yard runs 80 to 100 days from the plant date in the paper. The winter grocery melon is a Florida commercial fact, not a myth. Both can be Citrullus lanatus. Only one grew next to the driveway. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions is the source for the December-to-April unique-supply line. PI031 cites USDA/NASS 2025: Florida ranked first nationally in 2024, 24.7% of U.S. production. The vast majority of that crop is harvested May to July. December to April is the window no other state fills.
| Place | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Central Florida yard | Plant January to March. Icebox types if space is tight. 80 to 100 days to fruit. |
| Grocery, December to April | Florida is the U.S. source named on the IFAS page. Read the sticker. |
| Commercial harvest | April 1 to July 15 statewide. Most active May 1 to July 1. Central Florida begins mid to late May per UF/IFAS watermelon guidance. |
| Grocery, high summer | Florida or other states. Sticker decides. |
How to read a month
UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says Florida has a great climate for watermelon and is a leading producer for the nation, and adds the fact that surprises people: Florida is the only state in the country that produces watermelon from December to April. Home gardeners in Central Florida plant January through March. The vine in the yard runs about 80 to 100 days from the plant date in the paper. A February transplant is an April–May fruit if the heat band holds.
Stores can sell Florida watermelon in months other states cannot. A July picnic melon may still be Florida, or it may be someone else's field. Read the sticker. Cantaloupe stays a separate crop with its own window on the What to Plant by Month list. Do not treat a muskmelon display as a watermelon calendar.
A driveway vine is not a commercial winter field. Count days from the transplant you actually set, and watch for fruit that has a yellow ground spot and a browned tendril. Unlike cantaloupe, watermelon will not keep ripening after the cut. The grow page is the planting window. This page is the split: Florida winter trucks versus a spring yard vine versus a July melon that might be from anywhere.
Heat in the bin
Watermelon grows best at 70°F–85°F days and will tolerate 90°F. That is why Florida can ship in winter: South and Central fields stay in the band when other states cannot. It is also why a late home plant is a harder bet. Peak Orlando summer regularly sits at or above that 90°F ceiling. UF/IFAS watermelon guidance names Florida’s warm, moist climate as the reason disease is a serious pest problem. Hypothesis: fruit that fills in May–June on a January plant is in the IFAS heat band; fruit that tries to fill in August is in gummy-stem weather. The papers do not give an Orlando August home crop.
Seedless in the bin
Most grocery wedges are seedless. The grow page’s sidebar explains the triploid. Home gardeners can still grow seeded icebox types. Sugar, the character, is a slice with seeds showing. That is the old look on purpose. Seedless plants need a seeded pollenizer and bees. Per watermelon production guidance: seedless now dominate the market; they are transplanted, not direct-seeded, and they want soil above 80°F to germinate.
Questions
Is a January melon from Florida?
It can be. IFAS says Florida is the only state producing watermelon then. UF/IFAS watermelon guidance calls Florida the only U.S. supplier from December to April. Check origin on the sticker.
Should I plant cantaloupe the same day?
Cantaloupe is a separate spring seed crop on the month list. Do not treat it as watermelon.
When does a Central Florida vine actually fruit?
Plant January through March. Seed to maturity is 80 to 100 days, so a February transplant is an April–May fruit if the heat band holds. Commercial Central Florida harvest begins mid to late May.
Sources
- Watermelon, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions
- Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (SP 103/VH021), UF/IFAS
- Florida Crop/Pest Management Profile: Watermelon (CIR1236/PI031), UF/IFAS