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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant melons is to examine the USDA zone info for South Holland.

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 it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in South Holland 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Holland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Holland is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Holland last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Holland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in South Holland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Holland.