One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alexandria.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Alexandria is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Alexandria the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Alexandria is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Alexandria you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Alexandria

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