One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Pekin you should be able to figure out when you can plant cucumbers.

Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

Frost tolerance for cucumbers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since cucumbers do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cucumbers in Pekin 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 cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cucumbers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cucumbers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Pekin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Pekin it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cucumbers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pekin

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 Pekin

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