One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Charlotte you can estimate when it's possible to plant watermelon by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Watermelon are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Charlotte 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Charlotte. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charlotte and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlotte

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