One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Rochelle can be looked at to estimate 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 means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Rochelle 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 fully mature. 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 Rochelle. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochelle and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rochelle you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochelle

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 Rochelle

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