Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Carterville you can estimate when it's the best time to plant bell peppers by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Carterville 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Carterville. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carterville is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Carterville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carterville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Carterville

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