One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant black pepper is to examine the USDA zone info for Berne.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant black pepper until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Berne 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Berne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Berne is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Berne last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berne

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 Berne

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