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.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes in Rockford by referring to 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 has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Rockford 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 grow to maturity. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rockford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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