Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to examine the USDA zone info for Tucumcari.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

Frost tolerance for cantaloupes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Tucumcari 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. 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 April 15 in Tucumcari. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tucumcari is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Tucumcari last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tucumcari

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Tucumcari

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