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.

In Alabaster you can estimate when it's the best time to plant gherkins by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

Frost tolerance for gherkins:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Gherkins do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Alabaster 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 gherkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Alabaster the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alabaster is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Alabaster last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alabaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Alabaster

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