One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Pittsfield it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible 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.

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 Pittsfield 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 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 Pittsfield. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Pittsfield may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Pittsfield it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

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 Pittsfield

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