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.

The USDA zone info for Natchitoches should be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant gherkins.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Natchitoches 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Natchitoches. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Natchitoches is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Natchitoches you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Natchitoches

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchitoches

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