Can You Plant Seeds From Store-Bought Watermelons?
Yes, you can plant seeds from store-bought watermelons! Although you can grow them, you may not get the exact results you’re looking for. Watermelon flowers will cross-pollinate with other varieties, forming new hybrids when you plant their seeds.
Contents
Don’t spit those store-bought watermelon seeds out—save them instead! You can plant them to see if they’ll grow tasty watermelons this year. Whether or not they will grow well depends on the watermelon they came from.
Some varieties are seedless and sterile, meaning they won’t have seeds inside that you can plant. You’ll need a seeded watermelon to find plantable seeds. Although seeded melons are more difficult to eat, you’ll need to buy them if you’d like to grow new watermelon plants.
After planting, you’ll cultivate and care for the melon vines until they grow flowers and fruit. The watermelons that grow from your seeds may look completely different from the ones you bought from the store! Let them flourish as a fun experiment for the summer garden.
Mountain Sweet Yellow Watermelon
Mountain Sweet Yellow Watermelon Seeds
The Short Answer
The short answer is yes, you can plant seeds from store-bought watermelons! Seeds are an excellent way to grow new plants. So long as the watermelon is seeded, you can save the seeds from the interior and plant them in your garden. Though they will grow, they may form watermelons that look completely different from the ones you bought.
The Long Answer
Here’s the long answer: it might be easier to buy your favorite cultivar’s seeds from a nursery or online shop. Instead of taking a gamble with a chance experiment, it’s easier to grow your chosen variety for a reliable harvest.
If you’re up for the challenge and you have the space for long watermelon vines, why not plant some mystery seeds? You may discover a new variety!
Watermelon Genetics
Watermelons are unique fruits. They sprout from female flowers on the plants’ vines. Male flowers also grow on the vines, though they quickly fade after they give their pollen to the female flowers. Plants like watermelons are monoecious, meaning they grow separate male and female flowers on the same vine.
When pollen from one variety’s male flowers travels to the female flowers of another variety, a new genetic combination forms. The resulting melon will grow normally, though the seeds inside will contain a mix of new genes. When you plant those seeds, the seedlings may grow differently from the parent plants.
This process is how plant breeders discover new varieties! They purposefully combine pollen from two different cultivars in the hopes of creating new, disease-resistant, and vigorous watermelon cultivars. You can do the same in your garden, or you can take a chance on mystery seeds from store-bought watermelons.
It Depends on the Watermelon
Some store-bought watermelon seeds won’t grow into new plants, no matter how hard you try to sprout them! Seedless watermelons cannot form viable seeds. You may see one or two inside that look viable, though you’ll see they won’t sprout after planting them.
Seedless watermelons are triploid hybrids. This refers to the number of chromosomes they have. Seeded types are diploid with two sets of chromosomes, or tetraploid with four sets. Growers transfer pollen from one variety into the female flowers of another to form triploid hybrid seeds, aka seedless watermelon seeds.
For the best results, plant seeds from heirloom watermelon varieties. They’re likely to grow into vines that resemble their parents, and they’ll give you delicious melons to enjoy. If you’d like to take a chance, plant a hybrid seed and see what happens!
Unpredictable Characteristics
The unpredictability of watermelon growing is alluring to curious gardeners. Cost-efficiency is another reason to plant them from bought watermelons instead of seed packets. No matter the reasoning, knowing what will happen when you grow a watermelon seed is helpful before starting the process.
It’s hard to know where your bought melons grew and how many other melons grew near them. Honeybees, bumblebees, and other pollinators visit crop fields and transfer pollen from one plant to another. Your watermelon could have any number of different genes inside the seeds!
Watch your seedlings while they mature. Note any differences in leaf shapes, flowers, and melon sizes. The fun part is watching and noticing the differences. If you like a particular plant, save seeds from that plant’s watermelons and grow them the next year.
With annual sowings and seed savings, you’ll begin to grow climate-adapted watermelons that thrive in your region. You may find long melons, round ones, or yellow-fleshed ones! The possibilities are endless.
How to Plant Watermelon Seeds
Sow watermelons outdoors in warm regions and indoors in cold regions with short growing seasons. Watermelon seedlings don’t transplant well, and they benefit from growing in paper pots if you are planning to transplant them. Paper pots decay in the ground and let the roots grow without disturbance.
Outdoors, direct sow watermelon seeds once the weather warms in spring. It’s safe to plant them a week or two after your last average frost date, when the soil’s temperature ranges between 70-90°F (21-32°C). The plants like the heat; they dislike early starts during cold springs.
Indoors, sow watermelons two to four weeks before you plan on transplanting them. Use biodegradable pots so you don’t disturb the roots while you plant them. Sow them a half-inch deep in potting soil, and keep them moist and well-lit while they grow.
Harden off the seedlings for a week or two before you plant them. Hardening off is a short process that allows the young plants to adapt to outdoor conditions. Keep the vines out of excessive direct sunlight, and bring them under protection if the weather grows too hot or cold.
How to Grow Watermelons
The watermelon vines of today originate from wild plants of Africa. They thrive with lots of direct sunlight and regular airflow. Some reach ten feet or longer! Give them plenty of open space, or train the clambering vines on supports.
Trellises, cattle panels, and arbors are perfect for watermelon plants. The one consideration for upright plants is their fruits. The swelling melons may need support so they don’t fall off. Use socks, sheets, or cloth materials to hold them up.
Keep the soil around your watermelons moist, but not soggy. Water them as often as necessary to keep them turgid and vigorous during the growing season. Most types will take 65 days or longer to give you ripe melons for fresh eating.
[div]Key Takeaways
- Don’t let the long process prevent you from growing watermelons. You never know what you’ll get!
- Seedless watermelons are seedless. You can’t use them to grow new plants.
- Seeded, heirloom watermelons are the best types to buy from the store for planting.
- You’ll find unpredictable results when growing store-bought watermelon seeds. Plant them to discover a new variety, or to start cultivating climate-adapted watermelons for your region.
