One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Orange Beach you can figure out when you can plant cantaloupes by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

You really shouldn't plant cantaloupes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Orange Beach is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. If you wait any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Orange Beach. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Orange Beach may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Orange Beach there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Orange Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Beach.