One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Fort Lauderdale can be read to determine when it's possible to plant gherkins.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

It's not a good idea to plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Fort Lauderdale 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gherkins may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your gherkins indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Fort Lauderdale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Lauderdale is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Lauderdale last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Lauderdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Lauderdale

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Lauderdale.