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

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant watermelon is to check out the USDA zone info for Waterloo.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of 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 Waterloo 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. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Waterloo. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Waterloo is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Waterloo there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterloo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterloo

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