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.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant gherkins by checking out the USDA zone info for Philadelphia.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You can not plant gherkins until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Philadelphia 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Philadelphia. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Philadelphia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Philadelphia there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

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 Philadelphia

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