One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant melons by reviewing the USDA zone info for Princeton.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You should not plant melons until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Princeton 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Princeton. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Princeton is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Princeton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Princeton

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 Princeton

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