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When to Plant Watermelon in Thief River Falls, MN

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.

The USDA zone info for Thief River Falls should be reviewed to determine when it's a good idea to plant watermelon.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to 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 Thief River Falls 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 really do well. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Thief River Falls. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Thief River Falls and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Thief River Falls there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Thief River Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Thief River Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Thief River Falls.