One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first chance to plant melons in Opelika should 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.

Since melons require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Opelika 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Opelika. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Opelika is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Opelika you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Opelika

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Opelika

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