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.

In Hartsville you can estimate when to plant melons by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 really shouldn't plant melons until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Hartsville 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 fully mature. 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

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Hartsville. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartsville is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hartsville you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hartsville

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 Hartsville

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