One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Rathdrum can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You can not 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 Rathdrum 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rathdrum. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rathdrum is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rathdrum you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rathdrum

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 Low	0°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 Rathdrum

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