One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Gatlinburg you can determine when it's the best time 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.

It's a bad idea to plant melons until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Gatlinburg 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 fully mature. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gatlinburg. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Gatlinburg is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Gatlinburg you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gatlinburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Gatlinburg

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