One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Lake Wales you can estimate when it's the best time to plant melons by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Lake Wales 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 really do well. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Lake Wales. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Wales and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Wales you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Wales

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 Lake Wales

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Wales.