One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Aurora you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes 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 has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Aurora 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 fully mature. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Aurora. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Aurora is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Aurora you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Aurora

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Aurora

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