One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Cambridge you can figure out when to plant cantaloupes by reviewing 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.

Cantaloupes are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to 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 Cambridge 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cambridge the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cambridge may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cambridge it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cambridge

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 Cambridge

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