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.

The USDA zone info for Hempstead can be reviewed to determine when you can plant cantaloupes.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

You really shouldn't plant cantaloupes until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Hempstead 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hempstead the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hempstead and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Hempstead last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

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 Hempstead

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