When to Plant Melons in Little Rock, AR

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.

By using the USDA zone info for Little Rock it's possible to figure out when you can plant melons.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melons
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melons
Probably not a good time to plant melons

The earliest that you can plant melons in Little Rock 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 few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Little Rock. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Little Rock and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Little Rock there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Little Rock

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Little Rock

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Little Rock.