When to Plant Watermelon in Cape Coral, FL

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.

You will be able to determine when you can plant watermelon by checking out the USDA zone info for Cape Coral.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant watermelon
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant watermelon
Probably not a good time to plant watermelon

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Cape Coral 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. If you wait any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Cape Coral. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cape Coral is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cape Coral there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your watermelon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cape Coral

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Cape Coral

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cape Coral.