Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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 common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant cantaloupes is to check out the USDA zone info for Pecos.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

It's a bad idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Pecos. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Pecos is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Pecos you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pecos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Pecos

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