One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when you can plant cantaloupes in Kent 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Cantaloupes are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Kent 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Kent. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Kent and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Kent you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kent

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Kent

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