One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of determining when you can plant cantaloupes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Star.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

It's not a good idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Star 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. 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 Star the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Star and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Star last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Star

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 Star

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