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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant cantaloupes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Wichita.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Wichita 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your cantaloupes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wichita. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Wichita is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Wichita 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 Wichita

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 Wichita

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