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What Plants Should Not Be Planted Next to Watermelons?

Growing your own fruit, like a large and juicy watermelon, saves money and gives you access to organic produce. Watermelon, also known as Citrullus lanatus, requires plenty of space, or it will have its rambling growth pattern disturbed by nearby plants. Planning your garden carefully will ensure a healthy crop of fully grown watermelon.

  1. Black Walnut Trees

    • The Juglans nigra, or black walnut tree, releases a strong chemical from its root system known as juglone. Many plants are sensitive to the effects of this toxin, including watermelon, according to the Branching Out newsletter from Cornell University. If watermelon is planted near or under a black walnut tree, it will grow stunted and wilt away before producing fruit. Cutting down the tree will only fix the problem if you remove the roots or wait until they rot before planting watermelon.

    Plants That Attract Pests

    • Cucumber beetles, including Diabrotica undecimpunctata and Acalymma trivittata, are small insects that attack a number of vegetables and fruiting vines, including watermelon. Keeping other plants that attract or host cucumber beetles away from watermelon helps prevent them from spreading quickly across the garden. Tomatoes and other cucurbit vegetables, including pumpkins and squash, attract and feed the cucumber beetle, according to the University of California Alameda County Master Gardeners Association.

    Melons

    • Squash, melons and cucumbers all belong to the Cucurbita genus. Although they are closely related, not all these plants will cross-pollinate with watermelon. In addition, the citron melon, or Citrullus lanatus, is in the Citrullus family with the watermelon, and only this member of the cucurbit family will cross-breed and change the taste and texture of the fruit produced by your watermelon plants. Cantaloupes should also be planted away from your watermelon to prevent the spread of common diseases between the two types of melon.

    Weeds and Brush

    • A number of fungal and bacterial infections can cause watermelon vines to die or become damaged before the melons are produced. Keeping your melon patch planted far away from thick stands of weeds or brush helps prevent these infections from spreading from wild plants to your garden, says the North Dakota State University Agricultural Extension. Weeds that spread cucurbit diseases include chickweed, pigweed, motherwort and milkweed. However, practically any perennial weed can host these diseases over the winter to reinfect new watermelon plants in the spring.

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Growing Edibles
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