One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 New Ulm you can figure out when it's possible to plant gherkins by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Since gherkins are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in New Ulm is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 fully mature. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in New Ulm. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for New Ulm is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in New Ulm it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your gherkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Ulm

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in New Ulm

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Ulm.