Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant melons by reviewing the USDA zone info for Arlington.

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 when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Arlington 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. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

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 Arlington and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Arlington you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your melons in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arlington

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 Arlington

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