One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for Ukiah should be reviewed to figure out when you can plant bell peppers.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Since bell peppers do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Ukiah 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. If you wait 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ukiah. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ukiah may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ukiah last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ukiah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ukiah

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