One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant cantaloupes by reviewing the USDA zone info for Abilene.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

You should not plant cantaloupes until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Abilene 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. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Abilene the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Abilene and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Abilene it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Abilene

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