One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant melons is to look at the USDA zone info for Lancaster.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

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 Lancaster 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 few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Lancaster. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lancaster and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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