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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes is to look at the USDA zone info for Dickinson.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Dickinson is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dickinson the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dickinson is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Dickinson there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dickinson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dickinson

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