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.
Growing Watermelons. Sweet, juicy homegrown watermelons capture the magic of summer with explosive taste that puts store-bought melons to shame. Like their cantaloupe cousins, watermelons demand 2 to 3 months of heat to produce ripe fruit, which makes growing watermelons in northern regions challenging, but not impossible. By using plastic mulch to warm soil and floating row covers to trap warm air near plants, gardeners in any part of the country can experience the homegrown goodness of watermelons.