The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to check out the USDA zone info for Stockbridge.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

You should not plant cantaloupes until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Stockbridge 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 cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Stockbridge. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Stockbridge is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Stockbridge last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stockbridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Stockbridge

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