One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Rancho Cucamonga you can determine when it's the best time 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.

You can not plant melons until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Rancho Cucamonga 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rancho Cucamonga is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rancho Cucamonga you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Cucamonga

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 Rancho Cucamonga

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Cucamonga.