Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant melons
Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle May 25 – Jun 15; Spokane May 30 – Jun 20; Boise May 10–31; Bend Jun 16 – Jul 7.
Your dates in
Melons are vining squash-family plants grown for sweet summer fruit: netted muskmelons (what most Americans call cantaloupe), smooth honeydews and many others like Galia and Charentais. A ripe muskmelon slips off the vine with a light push, which is the easiest way to know it's ready. Watermelons are a different species but need the same summer heat.
Puts melons on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Tricky here
- Sun
- Full sun; the hottest spot you have
- Spacing
- 24 to 36 inches apart
- Planting depth
- 1 inch deep
- Frost
- Killed by frost
- First harvest
- About 85 days after planting
The toughest heat lover for west-side gardens: choose short-season varieties and use black plastic and row cover. Eastern valleys grow them easily.
Melon planting dates
| Towns | Start seeds indoors | Plant in the garden |
|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
| Spokane, WA | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | May 19–26 | Jun 16 – Jul 7 |
| Astoria, OR | May 4–11 | Jun 1–22 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Cottage Grove, OR, Eugene, OR, McMinnville and Newberg, OR, Salem, OR | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Ashland and Talent, OR, Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | May 4–11 | Jun 1–22 |
|---|
| Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR | May 19–26 | Jun 16 – Jul 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Burns, OR | May 21–28 | Jun 18 – Jul 9 |
| Lakeview, OR | May 14–21 | Jun 11 – Jul 2 |
| Madras, OR | May 8–15 | Jun 5–26 |
| Prineville, OR | May 11–18 | Jun 8–29 |
| Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR | May 8–15 | Jun 5–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
| La Grande, OR | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Olympia, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Shelton, WA | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA | May 4–11 | Jun 1–22 |
|---|---|---|
| Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA, Sequim, WA | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
| Centralia and Chehalis, WA, Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Apr 27 – May 4 | May 25 – Jun 15 |
|---|
| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
|---|---|---|
| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA, Winthrop and Twisp, WA | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
| Ellensburg, WA, Goldendale, WA | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
| Yakima, WA | Apr 17–24 | May 15 – Jun 5 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
|---|
| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
|---|
| Lewiston, ID | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
|---|---|---|
| Moscow, ID | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Apr 12–19 | May 10–31 |
|---|---|---|
| McCall, ID | Jun 1–8 | Jun 29 – Jul 20 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | May 2–9 | May 30 – Jun 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon, ID | May 8–15 | Jun 5–26 |
Melon year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start indoors | Apr | May | ||||||||||
| Plant | May | Jun | ||||||||||
| Harvest | Aug | Sep |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.
How to grow melons
- Start seeds indoors on your city's dates in trays or small pots under a grow light or in your sunniest window. Or skip this step and buy young plants (starts) at a garden center.
- Harden off the young plants: about a week before planting, set them outside for a few hours a day, a little longer each day.
- Plant them in the garden on your city's dates, 24 to 36 inches apart. If you plant seeds instead, sow them 1 inch deep.
- Water deeply once or twice a week rather than a little every day, and mulch once the soil is warm.
- Harvest: Cantaloupes are ripe when the stem slips off with a gentle push. Watermelons are ready when the curly tendril nearest the fruit turns brown and dry.
Growing melons in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Melons are a stretch west of the Cascades. Choose early varieties, use black plastic, and plant in June. A hot summer gives a good crop.
Coast
Oregon and Washington coast
Cool summers are rarely warm enough to ripen melons outdoors. Use a greenhouse.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Melons thrive in the hot east-side valleys; Hermiston is known for its watermelons. Cut back watering as fruit ripens for the sweetest flavor.
High desert and mountain towns
Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon
Cold nights make melons a gamble. Use black plastic, row cover and the earliest varieties.
More melon varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Sugar Baby
Round, dark green melons of about 8 to 10 pounds with sweet red flesh. Its size and speed make it the most reliable watermelon for many Northwest gardens.
Both sides
Minnesota Midget
Softball-sized melons on short vines that ripen quickly. A good choice for cool, short summers and small spaces, with sweet orange flesh.
Short seasons
Halona
An early, sweet, fragrant orange-fleshed cantaloupe with some disease resistance. One of the best full-size melons for west-side gardeners using black plastic.
West side
Blacktail Mountain
Developed in northern Idaho for cool nights and short seasons. Dark green melons of about 6 to 12 pounds with sweet red flesh ripen where others fail.
Short seasons
Crimson Sweet
Large, striped melons of 20 pounds or more with very sweet, crisp red flesh. It needs real summer heat, which eastern valleys deliver.
East side
Hale's Best
A classic netted cantaloupe with thick, sweet, salmon-orange flesh. It thrives in hot, dry eastern summers and tolerates drought fairly well.
East side
How much to grow
How many to plant
For a family of four, 3 to 6 plants of a small, early variety.
What to expect
About 2 to 4 melons per plant west of the Cascades; more in hot eastern valleys.
Storing the harvest
Ripe cantaloupe keeps about five days in the fridge; whole watermelon about two weeks somewhere cool.
What to plant after melons
Around Portland, the melon harvest wraps up around September. These crops can still go into the same bed, and they come from a different plant family, which helps with rotation.
- Mâche Aug 13 – Sep 17
- Spinach Aug 20 – Sep 10
- Mustard greens Aug 20 – Sep 10
- Cilantro Aug 27 – Sep 10
- Arugula Aug 27 – Sep 17
- Radishes Sep 3–17
- Garlic Oct 1 – Nov 15
- Fava beans Oct 1–31
Mâche 
Spinach 
Mustard greens 
Cilantro 
Arugula 
Radishes 
Garlic 
Fava beans Portland dates. Pick your town at the top of the page for yours.
Key numbers
- 75–95°FSoil to sprout
- 6.0–7.0Soil pH
- 1–2 inches a weekWater
- Cool soil and nightsBiggest risk
Top care tip: Water well while vines grow, then cut back as fruit ripens for sweeter melons.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
Heat is everything
Melons come from hot climates, and their seeds rot rather than sprout in cold soil. Growth crawls whenever nights drop into the 50s, which is normal for June west of the Cascades. That's why black plastic mulch matters so much here: it warms the soil several degrees and keeps it warm overnight. Lay it a week or two before planting, then cover the plants with floating row cover.
Melon roots resent being disturbed, so if you start seeds indoors, use individual pots and transplant them young, before they get root-bound.
Flowers, bees and sweetness
Melons make male flowers first and female flowers, the ones with a tiny melon at the base, a week or so later. Bees have to carry pollen between them, so take the row cover off once female flowers open. Poorly pollinated fruit tends to be small or misshapen.
Sugar is made in the leaves, so healthy foliage means sweet fruit. Water deeply while vines grow and fruit swells, then ease off as melons near ripeness. Heavy watering at the end dilutes flavor and can split the fruit.
East vs west of the Cascades
Eastern valleys like the Yakima and Walla Walla areas have long, hot summers, and melons grow there with little fuss, including larger, longer-season varieties. West of the mountains, pick short-season varieties such as Sugar Baby, Minnesota Midget or Halona, and use every warming trick: the sunniest spot, black plastic, row cover, and a south-facing wall if you have one. Limit each vine to a few fruits so they ripen before cool September nights slow everything down.
Good neighbors and crop rotation
Good neighbors
- Nasturtiums. Draw pollinating bees to the area.
- Radishes. Quick to harvest in the space before vines run.
Squash family: Move squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons to a new bed each year and return every three years, so soil-borne wilts and root rots don't build up. Clear and compost (or bin) mildewed vines in fall.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with melons in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Cool soil and nights
Signs: Plants sit still for weeks after planting.
What to do: Black plastic mulch, row cover until flowering and the hottest spot you have.
Powdery mildew
Signs: White coating on the leaves in late summer.
What to do: Resistant varieties and watering at the base.
Bland fruit
Signs: Melons ripen but taste watery.
What to do: Ease off watering as the fruit nears ripe, and let it slip from the vine.
Common questions about growing melons
When should I plant melons in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in the garden: May 25 – Jun 15 in Portland and Seattle, May 30 – Jun 20 in Spokane, May 10–31 in Boise and Jun 16 – Jul 7 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Why aren't my homegrown melons sweet?
Usually the vines ran out of warm weather or healthy leaves before the fruit ripened. Picking too early, heavy watering near harvest and disease on the leaves also lower sugar. Short-season varieties, black plastic and fewer fruits per vine all help.
Can you grow watermelon in Portland or Seattle?
Yes, with small, early varieties like Sugar Baby and plenty of help from black plastic mulch and row cover. Expect a few modest fruits per plant rather than a big harvest, and expect better results in a hot summer than a cool one.
Why are my melon flowers falling off?
The first flowers are usually male, and they drop after a day or so by design. If female flowers (the ones with a tiny fruit behind them) also shrivel, they weren't pollinated. Remove row covers at bloom so bees can reach them.
See what else to plant in April, May or June.
Cucumbers
Zucchini and summer squash
Winter squash
Pumpkins