One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Marshall it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant cantaloupes.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Marshall 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. Any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marshall. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Marshall is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Marshall last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marshall

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Marshall

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