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.

The best time to plant gherkins in Marshalltown should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You really shouldn't plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Marshalltown 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Marshalltown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marshalltown is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Marshalltown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marshalltown

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 Marshalltown

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