Growing watermelons in Lancashire? Why not!
Since April 2026, the gardening club at Trawden Forest Primary School has been nurturing something rather special: watermelons grown from seed. School Gardening Lead Joanne Nelson tells us the story
When we told the children at Trawden Forest Primary School that we were going to try growing watermelons, there were plenty of surprised faces. “But Miss… don’t they grow in hot countries?” they asked. We were just as curious to see if we could produce a crop here in Lancashire. In mid-May, the plants were moved into our unheated school polytunnel. To give them the best possible start, we wrapped them in horticultural fleece overnight until the weather became warmer.
We chose watermelon ‘Sugar Baby’, a compact, quick-maturing variety that is well suited to our shorter growing season. Although we’re based in the Pennines, we’ve learned that with a little planning, even tropical crops can be surprisingly successful.
Watermelon ‘Sugar Baby’
Rather than planting them into the ground, we grew each plant in a large 60cm container filled with compost made entirely at school. The compost is produced in our own composting bays using fruit and vegetable snack waste collected daily from every classroom, together with garden waste from around the school grounds.
The children were involved every step of the way. They sowed the seeds, helped pot on the young plants, watered them throughout the summer and fed them every week using either our homemade comfrey feed or a seaweed fertiliser. We encouraged deep watering rather than little and often, helping the plants develop strong root systems.
At first, neither the children nor the teachers knew whether the watermelon experiment would be successful
After months of careful tending, watering and plenty of patience, the fruit was finally ready to harvest
Harvest day was definitely the highlight. After months of care and anticipation, we picked our homegrown watermelons and held a ‘Share the Produce’ taste-testing session in the playground with the whole school. Seeing nearly 200 children enjoying fruit they had helped to grow was incredibly rewarding.
Children at Trawden Forest Primary School enjoying their juicy harvest
The very best part wasn’t the harvest itself but what happened afterwards. As the last slices disappeared, the children all had the same question: “Can we grow even more next year?”
For us, that’s what gardening is all about. Growing food isn’t simply about the harvest. It’s about curiosity, teamwork, sustainability and inspiring children to believe they really can grow almost anything – even watermelons in Lancashire!
In November 2025, we also started growing a Musa velutina (pink banana) from seed. It took five months to germinate and it’s now about 76cm tall. It’s our nurtured baby.
Trawden Forest Primary School’s top tips for growing watermelons:
- Choose a quick-maturing variety such as ‘Sugar Baby’
- Sow seeds indoors in mid-April using gentle bottom heat
- Pot on once three true leaves have developed
- Move plants into a polytunnel after the risk of frost has passed, protecting them with
fleece - Grow in a large container filled with rich, fertile compost
- Water deeply and consistently
- Feed weekly with a high-potash feed such as homemade comfrey feed or seaweed fertiliser
- Train plants vertically to save space and support developing fruits using homemade slings made from old tights.
