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 figuring out when to plant melons is to check out the USDA zone info for Richton Park.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Richton Park 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 really do well. 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 Richton Park. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Richton Park is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richton Park you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richton Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Richton Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richton Park.