Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Cherokee it's possible to estimate when you can plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

It's not a good idea to plant melons until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Cherokee 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 grow to maturity. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cherokee. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cherokee is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cherokee you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cherokee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Cherokee

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