One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Imperial you can estimate when it's the best time to plant gherkins by reviewing 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 it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Imperial is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 January 31 in Imperial. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Imperial is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Imperial last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Imperial

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Imperial

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