When to Plant Bell Peppers in Spirit Lake, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant bell peppers by using the USDA zone info for Spirit Lake.


Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Since bell peppers are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bell peppers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bell peppers
Probably not a good time to plant bell peppers

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Spirit Lake 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Spirit Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Spirit Lake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Spirit Lake there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spirit Lake

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 Spirit Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spirit Lake.