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

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to consult the USDA zone info for Dothan.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Dothan 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. If you wait any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Dothan may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dothan you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dothan

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 Dothan

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