One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Montpelier you will be able to estimate when you can plant cantaloupes.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Montpelier is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Montpelier. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Montpelier and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Montpelier there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Montpelier

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Montpelier

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