One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Belle Plaine you can estimate when it's possible to plant cantaloupes by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

Frost tolerance for cantaloupes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Belle Plaine 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Belle Plaine. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Belle Plaine and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Belle Plaine there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Belle Plaine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Belle Plaine

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Belle Plaine.