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.

The USDA zone info for Gretna can be reviewed to estimate 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.

Cantaloupes require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Gretna 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. If you are starting your cantaloupes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Gretna. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gretna is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Gretna there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gretna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Gretna

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