One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant gherkins is to consult the USDA zone info for Seneca.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Since gherkins are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Seneca 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. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Seneca. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Seneca is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Seneca last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Seneca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Seneca

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