One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 earliest that you can plant black pepper in Tampa should be figured out 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.

Since black pepper are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Tampa 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

In Tampa 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.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Tampa is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Tampa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your black pepper if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tampa

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 Tampa

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