Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Spirit Lake it's possible to figure out when 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.

Gherkins do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to 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 Spirit Lake 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. If you wait any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Spirit Lake. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Spirit Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Spirit Lake you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spirit Lake

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 Spirit Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spirit Lake.