One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Clayton should be figured out 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 has passed.

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Clayton 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 fully mature. 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 February 15 in Clayton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Clayton is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Clayton you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Clayton

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