One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Jefferson City should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Jefferson City 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jefferson City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Jefferson City is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Jefferson City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson City

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 Jefferson City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Jefferson City.