One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Cottage Grove you can determine when it's the best time to plant gherkins by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gherkins

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

Gherkins require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant gherkins in Cottage Grove 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 fully mature. Starting your gherkins indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cottage Grove the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cottage Grove and it is different every year. Half of the time in Cottage Grove last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gherkins in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cottage Grove

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cottage Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cottage Grove.