The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In South Houston you can estimate when it's the best time to plant melons by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in South Houston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in South Houston. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Houston and it is different every year. Half of the time in South Houston last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Houston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in South Houston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Houston.