One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In South Gate you can figure out when you can plant black pepper by reviewing 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant black pepper until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in South Gate 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. If you wait 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Gate and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Gate it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your black pepper if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Gate

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 South Gate

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Gate.