One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant bell peppers is to look at the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Shenandoah 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bell peppers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Shenandoah is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Shenandoah it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bell peppers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Shenandoah

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