One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant melons by checking out the USDA zone info for Sparks.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons require warm weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Sparks 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. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sparks the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sparks and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sparks last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sparks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Sparks

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