One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant cantaloupes in Poquoson should be estimated by using 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.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Poquoson. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Poquoson is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Poquoson you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Poquoson

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 Poquoson

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