One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Tampa it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant gherkins.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Gherkins are not cold tolerant which means that you must 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 Tampa 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Tampa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Tampa is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Tampa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tampa

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 Tampa

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