Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant cantaloupes by checking out the USDA zone info for Dover.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Dover 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. If you wait any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Dover. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dover and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Dover you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Dover

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