Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden 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 determining when you can plant black pepper is to refer to the USDA zone info for Hawthorne.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Since black pepper require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Hawthorne 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. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

In Hawthorne the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hawthorne is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hawthorne it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hawthorne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Hawthorne

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