One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 determining when you can plant bell peppers is to use the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge.

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 require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Chicago Ridge 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Chicago Ridge. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.