One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant watermelon is to consult the USDA zone info for Marana.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watermelon may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your watermelon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marana the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marana and it is different every year. Half of the time in Marana it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marana

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Marana

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