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.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Lompoc should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You can not plant melons until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Lompoc 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lompoc. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lompoc may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lompoc you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lompoc

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 Lompoc

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