When to Plant Cantaloupes in Alameda, CA

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

The USDA zone info for Alameda should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes.


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 it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cantaloupes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cantaloupes
Probably not a good time to plant cantaloupes

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Alameda is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Alameda the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alameda and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alameda you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alameda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Alameda

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