One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Benton you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Benton 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. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Benton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Benton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

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 Benton

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