One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Valparaiso it's possible to figure out 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant gherkins until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Valparaiso 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. Any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Valparaiso the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Valparaiso is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Valparaiso there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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