When to Plant Cantaloupes in Oxford, MS

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Oxford should be used to estimate when you can 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.

You can not plant cantaloupes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cantaloupes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cantaloupes
Probably not a good time to plant cantaloupes

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Oxford is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 really do well. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Oxford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oxford and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Oxford you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oxford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oxford

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