One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant melons is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alamosa.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Alamosa is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and 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 Alamosa the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Alamosa is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alamosa there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alamosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Alamosa

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