Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 a good idea to plant watermelon by reviewing the USDA zone info for Jacksonville.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Jacksonville 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. Any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Jacksonville is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Jacksonville there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your watermelon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

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 Jacksonville

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