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

The best time to plant cantaloupes in Belvidere can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Belvidere 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 fully mature. 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 Belvidere. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Belvidere is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Belvidere you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Belvidere

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 Belvidere

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