When to Plant Gherkins in Sandwich, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sandwich you can determine when to plant gherkins by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You really shouldn't plant gherkins until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant gherkins
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant gherkins
Probably not a good time to plant gherkins

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Sandwich 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Sandwich. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sandwich is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Sandwich you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sandwich

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 Sandwich

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