One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant melons is to use the USDA zone info for Quitman.

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 Quitman 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Quitman the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Quitman is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Quitman it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Quitman

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Quitman

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