The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Chico you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant watermelon by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant watermelon until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Chico 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. Any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Chico. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chico may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chico there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

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 Chico

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