One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Oxford 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 has passed.

You really shouldn't plant cantaloupes until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Oxford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just 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 it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of 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 Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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.