One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Mammoth Lakes can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You really shouldn't plant melons until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Mammoth Lakes 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 fully mature. 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 Mammoth Lakes the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mammoth Lakes is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mammoth Lakes last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mammoth Lakes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mammoth Lakes

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mammoth Lakes.