Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Winston-Salem can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Watermelon require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Winston-Salem 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

In Winston-Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winston-Salem

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 Winston-Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Winston-Salem.