The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Northfield you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Northfield 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. If you wait 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

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Northfield. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Northfield is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Northfield it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cantaloupes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northfield

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 Northfield

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