One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant melons by checking out the USDA zone info for South Boston.

Planting Calendar for Melons

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

Melons do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melons in South Boston 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In South Boston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Boston and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in South Boston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Boston

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 South Boston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Boston.