When to Plant Melons in Ocean Springs, MS

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant melons is to examine the USDA zone info for Ocean Springs.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

You should not plant melons until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melons
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melons
Probably not a good time to plant melons

The earliest that you can plant melons in Ocean Springs is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ocean Springs the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ocean Springs and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ocean Springs there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocean Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean Springs.