One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant watermelon is to consult the USDA zone info for Helotes.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Watermelon do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Helotes 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. 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 Helotes. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Helotes is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Helotes last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Helotes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Helotes

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