Whether you want to directly seed or transplant watermelons, soil plays an important role in their healthy growth. If you make a wrong decision, your plants can’t grow well. This type of fruit requires a high level of nutrients, water, and moisture, but they just can absorb slowly. Below are some of the best soil for watermelon:
Here are the best soil for watermelon you can buy in 2024:
- Best For Root Growth: Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix
- Best For Strong Start: Black Gold 1310102 All Purpose Potting Soil
- Best For Moisture Retention: Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil
- Nutrient-Rich: Organic Plant Magic compressed potting soil
- Loamy: Espoma Company (VFGSI) Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil
- Lightweight: Michigan Peat 1440 Baccto Lite Premium Potting Soil
| 6 Best Soil For Watermelon | ||
|---|---|---|
Best For Root Growth | Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix | |
Best For Strong Start | Black Gold 1310102 All Purpose Potting Soil | |
Best For Moisture Retention | Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil | |
Nutrient-Rich | Organic Plant Magic compressed potting soil | |
Loamy | Espoma Company (VFGSI) Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil | |
Lightweight | Michigan Peat 1440 Baccto Lite Premium Potting Soil | |
Best For Root Growth: Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix
- Fluffy
- Drained-well
- Giant bags, taking a lot of space for storing
According to customers, this product won’t cause root rot even when they water their watermelons regularly. Everything happens for a reason.
Manufacturer said that the ingredients in this product are beneficial for root growth.
It is heavy enough to keep water for roots to take anytime when essential. Meanwhile, it is also lightweight enough to avoid causing root rot.
This soil drains pretty fast, so your watermelons have less chance to over-water, leading to root rot.
Below is the specific information:
The Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix has plant-healthy mycorrhizal fungi that will penetrate the watermelon roots to form an internal network of fungal structures inside each cell. And hyphae creates an extended network of fine hyphae that covers the outside of the roots up to 700 times more soil area than the watermelon roots to take more water and nutrients.
Apart from plant-available nutrients, its enzymes can break down into organic matter, creating nutrients. It creates a physical barrier, protecting roots from pathogens partly. When the barrier is down, these fungi will create antibiotics to kill pathogens from the outside.
Worm castings will protect your watermelon roots when the soil condition isn’t good. Besides, they function as a flushing agent to eliminate toxins from the soil, even the watermelon roots.
Composted pine bark will absorb and hold water and nutrients so that the root can access anytime when essential.
The longer the soil is used, the more compact it will be. Perlite can help you prevent this problem because it creates air pockets between soil particles. This creates a comfortable environment for the watermelon roots to grow and access nutrients.
| Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 8 QTS |
Primary Ingredient(s) | Mycorrhizae, Worm Castings, Composted Pine Bark, and added Lime |
Highlight Features | Natural ingredients Easy-to-manage drainage Best for container plants Resealable design |
Perfect Plants Organic Potting Mix has all essential features and functions for a complete root growth.
Best For Strong Start: Black Gold 1310102 All Purpose Potting Soil
- Clean smell
- Good bag size
- Effective from the nursery
- Attracts spiders
- No re-sealed after opening
Without a suitable choice of potting soil, it’s hard for your watermelon seedlings to germinate or they just have a weak and sensitive start.
Although the Black Gold 1310102 is rich in nutrients, it won’t harm your delicate seedings. Instead, it releases nutrients into the mix slowly to feed them when they grow.
This effect is proven through the product’s ingredients:
Canadian sphagnum peat moss is ideal for seed starting because it provides your watermelon seedlings with favorable conditions for germination.
With sterile material, your seedlings can grow more conveniently without getting diseases.
Its antiseptic qualities can keep your watermelon seedlings from fungi and bacteria.
The fine texture of this soil features great drainage and aeration, suiting newly sensitive roots to grow.
Though seedlings require many nutrients, absorbing too many nutrients can cause serious problems. For example, they heavily grow on the top and their root system is undeveloped. But, this soil’s worm castings deliver nutrients slowly for a steady growth.
Its pumice is an alternative to perlite, so it has similar features. This option can improve aeration, stimulate mycorrhiza, decrease water runoff and fertilization by absorbing them in soil. Also, it absorbs excess moisture to avoid root rot.
| Black Gold 1310102 All Purpose Potting Soil Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 8 quarts |
Primary Ingredient(s) | Canadian sphagnum peat moss, worm castings, forest humus, and pumice |
Highlight Features | A slow-release fertilizer Multi purpose High in nutrients Good for houseplants, hanging baskets, and patio containers |
Black Gold 1310102 All Purpose Potting Soil provides your watermelon seedlings with the most favorable conditions for a strong start.
Best For Moisture Retention: Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil
- Beautiful artwork on bag
- Lightweight
- Fresh and rich soil
- Expensive
Watermelons constantly require moisture during the growing season.
However, the clay soil is compact, so it is too wet. This product can keep a large amount of moisture, but it is too slow to drain. Meanwhile, the sandy soil has large particles that dry out quickly. This is not good at moisture retention.
Instead, you had better choose the Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil that has moderate aeration that will cause moderate moisture retention as well.
| Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 2 Cu. Ft. |
Primary Ingredient(s) | Sphagnum Peat Moss, Processed Forest Products, Perlite, Fertilizer, and Yucca |
Highlight Features | Great for flowers, tomatoes and vegetables Moderate aeration Feeding 2-3 weeks |
Mother Earth Terracraft Potting Soil offers an ideal moisture retention for your any fruit and vegetable plant.
Nutrient-Rich: Organic Plant Magic compressed potting soil
- Easy to store
- Good texture
- Not clear direction
Watermelons require a high level of nutrients and much water & moisture.
This soil is packed with all nutrients and trace minerals that are essential for the growth of watermelons. It can even feed up your fruits for months.
| Organic Plant Magic compressed potting soil Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 3 Gallons |
Primary Ingredient(s) | 100% natural ground coconut coir, worm castings, mycorrhizae, and amino acids |
Highlight Features | Compressed soil granules can expand up to 4 times Packed with essential nutrient and trace minerals |
Organic Plant Magic compressed potting soil is packed with many essential nutrients and minerals.
Loamy: Espoma Company (VFGSI) Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil
- Rich soil
- Beautiful texture
- Not for indoors
Among all soil types, loamy soil (the Espoma Company Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil is one of them) is the most appropriate choice. To determine the reason, learn all 3 main types:
Sandy soil with large particles leaches out of water and fertilizer quickly and is low in nutrients, so it’s not good for planting watermelons that need much water and nutrients.
Meanwhile, clay soil is heavy, holding too much water. It’s hard for sensitive watermelon roots to access nutrients and water in soil.
Finally, the loamy soil is the combination of clay, sandy and silt particles, so it has all the benefits of these types: improving moisture retention and drainage without drying in summer and water-logging in winter.
Specifically, Espoma’s ingredients including earthworm castings, peat humus and sphagnum peat moss, can loosen heavy soil to reach the texture of loamy soil.
| Espoma Company (VFGSI) Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 1 pound |
Primary Ingredient(s) | Sphagnum peat moss, peat humus, and earthworm castings |
Highlight Features | All natural & organic ingredients A blend of 11 strains of endo and ecto mycorrhizae Good for in-ground plantings |
Espoma Company (VFGSI) Organic Vegetable and Flower Soil is a loamy soil that is a great solution for watermelons.
Lightweight: Michigan Peat 1440 Baccto Lite Premium Potting Soil
- Good for seedlings
- Easy to use
- High price
Do you want to grow watermelons in containers?
So, you need to choose a lightweight soil like Michigan. This type of soil allows your container watermelon to easily access water and nutrients in soil.
| Michigan Peat 1440 Baccto Lite Premium Potting Soil Specifications | |
|---|---|
Container Size | 40 quarts |
Primary Ingredient(s) | Pre moistened sphagnum peat, and slow release fertilizers |
Highlight Features | Good for indoor and outdoor container plants, bulbs, seedlings, cuttings |
Michigan Peat 1440 Baccto Lite Premium Potting Soil is lightweight enough for container and potted plants.
How To Choose The Best Soil For Watermelon?
Do Watermelons Require Many Nutrients?
Yes. Watermelons are heavy feeders, requiring fertile soil with a high nutrient level and a lot of water.
As you know, organic soil amendments can turn poor soil into a nutrient-rich soil, so you can choose a soil enriched with organic matter. It holds a lot of nutrients and moisture or similar products.
What Is The Best Type Of Soil For Growing Watermelons?
To answer this question, you need to know what watermelons require for the best growth. Watermelons need a lot of water, moisture, and nutrients throughout the season, especially when they are growing fruit because watermelon fruits are made up of 98% of water.
The best choice is loamy, somewhat-sandy and well-drained soil because of its equal parts of clay, sand, and a heavy dose of organic material & intermediate mineral particles. Thus, this type of soil has all the advantages of other types, including holding moisture, draining well, allowing the roots to comfortably reach oxygen, and having a high level of organic matter.
Clay soil is formed from very fine mineral particles without having many organic materials. There is not much space between the mineral particles while watermelon roots are sensitive and not strong enough to go through dense clay like some trees and shrubs.
It is slow to drain, which holds too much water. And the water will cut off the air supply to the root and the beneficial microorganisms, easily leading to some diseases like root rot.
Although sandy soil can warm up in spring quickly, it also flows through too fast without holding enough water and nutrients.
What Is The Ideal Soil pH For Watermelons?
Soil pH is all about nutrition & soil fertility. A very high and low soil pH can cause nutrient deficiency and toxicity, straightforwardly leading to poor growth.
Normally, the pH range: 6-7 is ideal for garden vegetables, including watermelons, because this range has the greatest microbial activity and the watermelon roots can access nutrients in the best way.
Which Brands Make The Best Soil For Watermelon?
Black Gold
Black Gold has launched their potting soils and garden amendments at fine garden centers since 1985. All of their products are high quality because they are formulated in a professional way and are made from quality ingredients. In particular, they are famous for an impressive line of organic and natural gardening products.
FAQs
Can you plant melons in containers?
Yes, but you should choose a compact variety of watermelon that will grow small fruits. Below are some of them:
- Solitaire Watermelon
- Orange sweet watermelon
- Millennium watermelon
- Jade Star watermelon
- Golden Midget watermelon
- Jubilee watermelon
- Early Moonbeam watermelon
- Crimson sweet watermelon
- Sugar Baby watermelon
- Moon & Stars watermelon
Watermelons are pretty heavy even when you choose a compact variety. After planting watermelons in containers, add support in the form of trellis or teepee.
After watermelon fruits have appeared in containers, you need to offer extra support. Choose a stretchy material such as your T-shirt or panty hose to make a hammock under your watermelon fruits. The larger your watermelon fruits grow, the more this “handmade hammock will stretch.
How do you prepare soil for watermelon?
- Make clear out rocks and debris on the ground.
- Loosen the soil to 8-12 inches in depth so that the watermelon roots can reach down.
- Add organic matter by spreading 2-3 inches of aged-manure or compost onto your soil or dig the organic matter into the soil.
What is the best fertilizer for watermelon?
The Nitrogen-based fertilizer is good at forming protein, making up tissues for your young watermelons.
When your plant flowers, choose a fertilizer with a high level of phosphorus & potassium that is beneficial for production.
What month do you plant watermelon?
It’s best to grow watermelons in late spring to early summer because the soil temperature is 70ºF. This is an ideal growing time for watermelons since they love heat and warm weather.
Does watermelon like wet soil?
Although watermelons need a lot of water and require a lot of moisture, they don’t like wet feet. It grows well in well-drained soil.
Conclusion
The best soil for watermelon offers essential nutrients gradually for a complete growth and retains moisture without being over water-logged. Although all the products above can meet these requirements, you must pick up one, suiting your needs.
