One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Chester you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant melons.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Chester. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chester is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chester you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Chester

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