Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant black pepper in Novato by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since black pepper are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Novato. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Novato is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Novato you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of a late frost.

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.