When to Plant Melons in South Lake Tahoe, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant melons in South Lake Tahoe can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You should not plant melons until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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 South Lake Tahoe 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 grow to maturity. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in South Lake Tahoe. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Lake Tahoe and it is different every year. Since half of the time in South Lake Tahoe it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Lake Tahoe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in South Lake Tahoe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Lake Tahoe.