When to Plant Melons in Steilacoom, WA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 a good idea to plant melons by looking at the USDA zone info for Steilacoom.


Planting Calendar for Melons

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melons
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melons
Probably not a good time to plant melons

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

Last Frost Date

In Steilacoom the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Steilacoom is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Steilacoom you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your melons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Steilacoom

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Steilacoom

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