One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Baton Rouge can be estimated by using 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 because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Baton Rouge 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 fully mature. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Baton Rouge. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Baton Rouge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Baton Rouge there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Baton Rouge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Baton Rouge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Baton Rouge.