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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for La Plata it's a good idea to figure out when to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in La Plata 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in La Plata. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Plata and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in La Plata it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Plata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in La Plata

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Plata.