One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 first opportunity to plant gherkins in Punxsutawney should be figured out by checking out 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.

You really shouldn't plant gherkins until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Punxsutawney 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gherkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Punxsutawney is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Punxsutawney it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your gherkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Punxsutawney

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 Punxsutawney

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