One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant watermelon by referring to the USDA zone info for Arkadelphia.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since watermelon require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Arkadelphia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your watermelon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Arkadelphia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Arkadelphia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Arkadelphia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your watermelon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Arkadelphia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Arkadelphia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Arkadelphia.