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

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to look at the USDA zone info for Perry.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Perry 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. Any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Perry the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Perry and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Perry there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Perry

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Perry

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