Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant melons in Salinas can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons do not do well in cold weather which tells us 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 Salinas is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Salinas. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salinas is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salinas there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Salinas

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