One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant gherkins is to consult the USDA zone info for Ruston.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Since gherkins require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Ruston 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your gherkins indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Ruston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ruston you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ruston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ruston

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