Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant black pepper is to refer to the USDA zone info for Mishawaka.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Since black pepper are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Mishawaka 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. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mishawaka the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mishawaka is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mishawaka there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your black pepper if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mishawaka

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 Mishawaka

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