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

The first chance to plant cantaloupes in Madison can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's necessary 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 Madison 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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