One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes by reviewing the USDA zone info for Lake Mills.

Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

It's not a good idea to plant cantaloupes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Lake Mills 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Lake Mills. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Mills may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Mills you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Mills

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 Lake Mills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Mills.