Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant gherkins is to consult the USDA zone info for Prospect.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Since gherkins do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Prospect 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your gherkins indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Prospect. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Prospect is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Prospect there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Prospect

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Prospect

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