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.

In Dover you can determine when to plant gherkins by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

It's a bad idea to plant gherkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Dover 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your gherkins indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Dover. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dover is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dover last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Dover

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