One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Novato can be reviewed to figure out when to plant bell peppers.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Since bell peppers are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Novato 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 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Novato the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Novato and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Novato you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

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 Novato

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