One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant cucumbers is to refer to the USDA zone info for Chadron.

Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

Frost tolerance for cucumbers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since cucumbers are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cucumbers in Chadron 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 cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cucumbers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cucumbers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Chadron is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chadron last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your cucumbers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chadron

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 Chadron

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