One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In Tuscaloosa you can figure out when to plant cantaloupes 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 when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Tuscaloosa 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. Any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tuscaloosa. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tuscaloosa it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tuscaloosa

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 Tuscaloosa

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