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.

The USDA zone info for Bennettsville should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

You can not plant melons until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Bennettsville 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bennettsville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Bennettsville may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bennettsville you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bennettsville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Bennettsville

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