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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Winterset you should be able to determine when to plant watermelon.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

You can not plant watermelon until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Winterset 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 fully mature. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Winterset. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Winterset is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Winterset it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winterset

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 Winterset

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