Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Saginaw.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

It's a bad idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Saginaw 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Saginaw. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Saginaw and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Saginaw it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saginaw

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 Saginaw

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