Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when to plant melons by checking out the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in Salem 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melons may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Salem. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°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 Salem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your melons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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