When to Plant Bell Peppers in Dolton, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Dolton should be reviewed to determine 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 has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant bell peppers until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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 Dolton 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dolton is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Dolton you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dolton

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 Dolton

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