When to Plant Melons in Chambersburg, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Chambersburg it's a good idea to determine when to plant melons.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Since melons are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed 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 Chambersburg 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chambersburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chambersburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chambersburg there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chambersburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Chambersburg

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