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

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant black pepper is to look at the USDA zone info for Grinnell.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since black pepper are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Grinnell 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. Any later than that and 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Grinnell. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Grinnell may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Grinnell last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grinnell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Grinnell

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