Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant gherkins by checking out the USDA zone info for Keene.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

It's not a good idea to plant gherkins until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Keene 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. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Keene. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Keene is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Keene it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Keene

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Keene

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