One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant black pepper is to examine the USDA zone info for Antioch.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Since black pepper do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Antioch is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Antioch. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Antioch and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Antioch last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Antioch

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Antioch

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