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.

The USDA zone info for Jacksonville Beach can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

It's not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Jacksonville Beach 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. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Jacksonville Beach. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Jacksonville Beach is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Jacksonville Beach you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Jacksonville Beach.