Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 USDA zone info for Ontario should be read to determine when it's the best time to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Ontario 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Ontario. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ontario and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ontario it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ontario

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ontario

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