Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant melons in Tucson by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

Frost tolerance for melons:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since melons require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Tucson 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 melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Tucson. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Tucson and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Tucson there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tucson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Tucson

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