The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant black pepper is to use the USDA zone info for El Monte.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Black pepper do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in El Monte 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 really do well. If you are starting your black pepper indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Monte and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in El Monte last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Monte

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 El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Monte.