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

In Oakland you can figure out when to plant melons by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

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

The earliest that you can plant melons in Oakland 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 melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Oakland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Oakland you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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 Oakland

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