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.

The USDA zone info for Atlanta should be reviewed to determine when 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 tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Atlanta 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Atlanta. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Atlanta may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Atlanta it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atlanta

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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 Atlanta

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