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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant gherkins is to refer to the USDA zone info for Darby.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

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

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Darby 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. If you wait any later than that and your gherkins may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Darby. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Darby

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Darby

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