Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Smithville you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant bell peppers.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Smithville. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Smithville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Smithville there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithville

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