Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant gherkins by referring to the USDA zone info for Midlothian.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

Frost tolerance for gherkins:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant gherkins until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Midlothian 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. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Midlothian. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Midlothian is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Midlothian you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Midlothian

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Midlothian

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