When to Plant Melons in Mount Olive, NC

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Mount Olive you will be able to figure out when to plant melons.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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 Mount Olive 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. 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

In Mount Olive the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Olive is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Olive last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melons if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Olive

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Mount Olive

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Olive.