One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Salem you can figure out when it's the best time to plant watermelon by reviewing 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 it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your watermelon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for 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 Salem

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