Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Calimesa should be reviewed to determine when to plant gherkins.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

It's a bad idea to plant gherkins until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Calimesa 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. Any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Calimesa. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Calimesa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Calimesa there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Calimesa

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 Calimesa

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