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.

In Somerton you can estimate when to plant black pepper by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant black pepper until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Somerton is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Somerton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Somerton is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Somerton last frost occurs after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Somerton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Somerton

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