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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant cantaloupes is to examine the USDA zone info for Sparta.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Sparta 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Sparta. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sparta is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sparta you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Sparta

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