One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Ames can be read to determine 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Since gherkins require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Ames 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gherkins may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ames. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ames

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ames

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