One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant melons is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 12a.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to protect your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.