One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant watermelon in Santa Monica can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Watermelon require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Santa Monica 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

In Santa Monica the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Monica and it is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.