One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The first opportunity to plant watermelon in Fitzgerald can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

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 has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Fitzgerald is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your watermelon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Fitzgerald. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fitzgerald may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fitzgerald it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fitzgerald

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Fitzgerald

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