The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Centralia it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant melons.

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 Centralia 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. If you are starting your melons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Centralia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Centralia is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Centralia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Centralia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Centralia

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