Using a food thermometer. Checking the temperature of your cooked meat, poultry, and seafood with a food thermometer is the only reliable way to make sure your food has reached a safe internal cooking temperature.
Planting Watermelons. The ideal date to plant watermelons varies according to the climate of the region. To produce the sugar necessary for sweet fruit, the melons need hot weather. Seedlings should not be transplanted until three to four weeks after the last average frost date in the spring. Starting seed indoors about six weeks before planting gives you a head start when the soil is warm enough.
For a healthy seedling to sprout, watermelon seeds must be planted in temperatures between 70 and 95 degrees. Position the seeds no more than 5 feet away from each other, so the seedlings have room to mature into large fruit. Plant the seed about an inch into the ground.