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.

The first chance to plant bell peppers in Lake Forest should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since bell peppers require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Lake Forest 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Forest and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Forest you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

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 Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.