When to Plant Cantaloupes in Garden City, MI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first chance to plant cantaloupes in Garden City should be estimated 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 has passed.

You should not plant cantaloupes until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
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 Garden City 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Garden City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Garden City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Garden City

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 Garden City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Garden City.