When to Plant Cantaloupes in Manchester, NH

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

A way of making a decision about when to plant cantaloupes is to use the USDA zone info for Manchester.


Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Manchester 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. Any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Manchester. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Manchester is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Manchester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Manchester

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 Manchester

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