Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant melons in Zone 12b can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

It's a bad idea to plant melons until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Zone 12b 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. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 55°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12b is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

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