When to Plant Watermelon in Ridgefield, WA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ridgefield it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant watermelon.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

Since watermelon require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant watermelon
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant watermelon
Probably not a good time to plant watermelon

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Ridgefield 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 fully mature. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Ridgefield. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Ridgefield is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ridgefield last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your watermelon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgefield

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Ridgefield

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