Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant melons is to examine the USDA zone info for Sauk Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

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

The earliest that you can plant melons in Sauk Rapids is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 really do well. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Sauk Rapids. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sauk Rapids and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sauk Rapids you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your melons if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sauk Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Sauk Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sauk Rapids.