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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant gherkins in Richmond by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You should not plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Richmond 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 grow to maturity. 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 Richmond. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gherkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Richmond

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