Cantaloupe
Cucumis melo
Start cantaloupe indoors 1 week before your last spring frost, then plant out 2 weeks after your last spring frost. Space plants 24 in (61 cm) apart.
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us · source
When to plant
Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.
Optimal Indoor Start
From seedRecommended- Start indoors1 week before your last spring frost
- Begin hardening off1 week after your last spring frost
- Plant out2 weeks after your last spring frost
- First harvestabout 80 days after sowing
Optimal Transplant
From seed- Plant out2 weeks after your last spring frost
- First harvestabout 80 days after planting out
Optimal Direct Sow
From seed- Sow outdoors2 weeks after your last spring frost
- First harvestabout 90 days after sowing
Growing cantaloupe
- Spacing in the row
- 24 in (61 cm)
- Between rows
- 60 in (152 cm)
- Planting depth
- 1/2-1 inch
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Life cycle
- Annual
Feeding
- How often
- At planting, then once at midseason. Side-dress with a nitrogen fertilizer when the vines begin to run; avoid late, heavy nitrogen, which grows leaves at the expense of sweet fruit.
Your cantaloupe, planned to the day.
Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.