When to Plant Cucumbers in Bristol, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant cucumbers is to refer to the USDA zone info for Bristol.


Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

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

Since cucumbers are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cucumbers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cucumbers
Probably not a good time to plant cucumbers

The earliest that you can plant cucumbers in Bristol 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 cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cucumbers may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cucumbers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bristol and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bristol last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cucumbers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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