Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Marathon should be reffered to in order to figure out 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 the last frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Marathon is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cantaloupes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marathon it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 45°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marathon may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since it never frosts in Marathon you do not have to be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marathon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Marathon

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