One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant melons is to consult the USDA zone info for Charlestown.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons are not cold tolerant which tells us 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 Charlestown 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Charlestown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charlestown and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Charlestown it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlestown

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 Charlestown

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