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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant cantaloupes by looking at the USDA zone info for Clay.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

Frost tolerance for cantaloupes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Cantaloupes require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Clay 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Clay. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Clay is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Clay last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clay

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 Clay

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