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.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in La Crescent should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in La Crescent 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 really do well. If you are starting your cantaloupes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in La Crescent. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for La Crescent is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in La Crescent there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Crescent

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 La Crescent

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crescent.