One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 best time to plant bell peppers in National City should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in National City 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. If you wait any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In National City the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for National City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in National City you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for National City

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 National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.