One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Clayton should be read to figure out when you can 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 need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Clayton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your watermelon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clayton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Clayton is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clayton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your watermelon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

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 Clayton

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