One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 can estimate when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes in Punta Gorda by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Punta Gorda is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cantaloupes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Punta Gorda the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Punta Gorda is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Punta Gorda last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Punta Gorda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Punta Gorda

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Punta Gorda.