When to Plant Watermelon in Moorhead, MN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Moorhead it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant watermelon.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant watermelon
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant watermelon
Probably not a good time to plant watermelon

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Moorhead is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watermelon may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Moorhead. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Moorhead is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Moorhead it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your watermelon in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Moorhead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Moorhead

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