When to Plant Cantaloupes in Franklin, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 Franklin should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
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A good time to plant cantaloupes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cantaloupes
Probably not a good time to plant cantaloupes

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Franklin 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Franklin. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

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 Franklin

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