Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when you can plant watermelon in Oak Forest by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Watermelon require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Oak Forest. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Forest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Forest you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your watermelon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Forest.