One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The best time to plant black pepper in Bristol can be estimated by looking at 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.

Black pepper do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Bristol is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bristol and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bristol there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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