One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant melons in Hempstead should be estimated by reviewing 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.

Since melons do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Hempstead is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hempstead the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hempstead and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hempstead it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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