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.

The best time to plant melons in Jackson can 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 the last frost.

It's probably a bad 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 Jackson 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. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Jackson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Jackson and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jackson you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jackson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jackson

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