One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa you will be able to figure out 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 the last frost.

Bell Peppers are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Tuscaloosa 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. If you wait any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Tuscaloosa. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tuscaloosa you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tuscaloosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Tuscaloosa

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