The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rutland you can figure out when it's the best time to plant cantaloupes by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Rutland 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cantaloupes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rutland. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rutland is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rutland it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rutland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rutland

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