Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 earliest that you can plant melons in Cottage Grove should be estimated by referring to 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 not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Cottage Grove 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Cottage Grove. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cottage Grove is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cottage Grove it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cottage Grove

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Cottage Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cottage Grove.