{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "record_type": "plant",
  "slug": "watermelon",
  "common_name": "Watermelon",
  "botanical_name": "Citrullus lanatus",
  "family": "Cucurbitaceae",
  "summary": "Watermelons are tender annual vines that need sustained warmth, strong sun, fertile free-draining soil, reliable pollination and a long season to ripen sweet fruit.",
  "categories": [
    "fruiting crop",
    "warm-season crop",
    "greenhouse crop"
  ],
  "growth_habits": [
    "trailing vine",
    "trained climber"
  ],
  "lifecycle": "Tender annual",
  "difficulty": "Challenging",
  "requirements": {
    "light": {
      "minimum_direct_sun_hours": 6,
      "preferred_direct_sun_hours": 8
    },
    "soil_ph": {
      "minimum": 6.0,
      "maximum": 6.5
    },
    "container": {
      "minimum_volume_litres": 40,
      "minimum_diameter_cm": 40,
      "plants_per_container": 1
    },
    "spacing": {
      "minimum_cm": 90,
      "maximum_cm": 120
    },
    "planting_out": {
      "minimum_reliable_temperature_c": 15,
      "frost_tolerant": false,
      "label": "Plant out",
      "note": "Wait for soil to reach at least 18°C and for nights to remain reliably above 12–15°C"
    },
    "harvest": {
      "typical_uk_months": [
        "August",
        "September"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "rhs-growing-melons",
      "publisher": "Royal Horticultural Society",
      "url": "https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/melons/grow-your-own?type=f",
      "supports": [
        "uk_climate",
        "varieties",
        "temperature",
        "containers",
        "watering",
        "feeding"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "umn-growing-melons",
      "publisher": "University of Minnesota Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.umn.edu/gardening-minnesota/growing-melons-home-garden",
      "supports": [
        "soil_ph",
        "light",
        "sowing",
        "soil_temperature",
        "pollination",
        "seedless_types",
        "watering",
        "harvest"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "umd-growing-melons",
      "publisher": "University of Maryland Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-melons-home-garden",
      "supports": [
        "spacing",
        "pollination",
        "trellising",
        "fruit_support",
        "watering",
        "harvest"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "usu-growing-watermelon",
      "publisher": "Utah State University Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/watermelon-in-the-garden",
      "supports": [
        "soil",
        "sowing",
        "spacing",
        "watering",
        "harvest",
        "storage"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "umn-harvesting-melons",
      "publisher": "University of Minnesota Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.umn.edu/commercial-fruit-production/harvesting-and-storing-melons-squash-and-pumpkins",
      "supports": [
        "ripeness",
        "postharvest_ripening",
        "storage"
      ]
    }
  ]
}