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.

In Newton you can figure out when it's possible to plant melons by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Newton 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 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Newton. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Newton and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Newton there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newton

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 Newton

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