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 Fort Lauderdale you can determine when to plant melons by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Fort Lauderdale 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Fort Lauderdale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Lauderdale and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Fort Lauderdale you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Lauderdale

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 Fort Lauderdale

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Lauderdale.