Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant watermelon is to use the USDA zone info for Huntsville.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's not a good idea to plant watermelon until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Huntsville 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Huntsville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Huntsville is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Huntsville last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your watermelon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Huntsville

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 Huntsville

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