The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when to plant bell peppers is to check out the USDA zone info for Mokena.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

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

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Mokena 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. If you wait any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mokena may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mokena you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bell peppers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mokena

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 Mokena

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