Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant cantaloupes in Zone 4a by checking out 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.

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Zone 4a 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 really do well. 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 May 15 in Zone 4a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 4a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 4a it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cantaloupes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 4a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 4a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 4a.