The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when to plant gherkins is to consult the USDA zone info for Surprise.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Since gherkins do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Surprise is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gherkins and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gherkins may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Surprise. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Surprise may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Surprise you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gherkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Surprise

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

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

Plants to Grow in Surprise

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