One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Darien can be read to figure out when it's a good idea to plant bell peppers.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Darien 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Darien 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 Darien is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Darien there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Darien

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 Darien

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