One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Golden.

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 probably a bad idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Golden 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Golden. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Golden is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Golden you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Golden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Golden

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