Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Franklin it's possible 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Franklin 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

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 Franklin

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