One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Northampton it's possible to estimate when to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

Frost tolerance for melampodium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant melampodium until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Northampton 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 melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Northampton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Northampton and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Northampton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northampton

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 Low	0°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 Northampton

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