The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Valparaiso you can figure out when it's possible to plant black pepper by using 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 a bad idea to plant black pepper until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Valparaiso 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. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Valparaiso. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Valparaiso is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Valparaiso it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your black pepper if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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