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.

A way of figuring out when to plant watermelon is to use the USDA zone info for Elizabeth City.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant watermelon until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Elizabeth City 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. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elizabeth City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elizabeth City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elizabeth City there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabeth City

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 Elizabeth City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elizabeth City.