When to Plant Melons in Clayton, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Clayton it's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant melons.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melons
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melons
Probably not a good time to plant melons

The earliest that you can plant melons in Clayton 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 really do well. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clayton the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Clayton is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Clayton you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Clayton

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