When to Plant Watermelon in El Monte, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in El Monte can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's not a good idea to plant watermelon until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in El Monte is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in El Monte. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for El Monte is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in El Monte you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your watermelon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Monte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Monte.