One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant gherkins is to use the USDA zone info for La Junta.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You really shouldn't plant gherkins until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in La Junta 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. If you wait any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In La Junta the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Junta and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in La Junta there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your gherkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Junta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in La Junta

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Junta.