One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant watermelon by reviewing the USDA zone info for Oxford.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon require warm weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Oxford 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Oxford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oxford and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oxford it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your watermelon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oxford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oxford

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