One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of estimating when to plant watermelon is to use the USDA zone info for Tulare.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's a bad idea to plant watermelon until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Tulare 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 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 few weeks earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Tulare. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Tulare may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tulare there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your watermelon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tulare

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 Tulare

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