Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Deridder can be reffered to in order to estimate when you can plant watermelon.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Watermelon require warm weather which tells us that you must 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 Deridder 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 really do well. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Deridder the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Deridder is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Deridder last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Deridder

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 Deridder

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