One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Great Falls can be read to estimate when to plant gherkins.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

You really shouldn't plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Great Falls 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. Any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Great Falls. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Great Falls is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Great Falls it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your gherkins in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Great Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Great Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Great Falls.