One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant cantaloupes is to examine the USDA zone info for Vicksburg.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Vicksburg 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Vicksburg. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Vicksburg may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Vicksburg you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vicksburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Vicksburg

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