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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mitchell you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant black pepper.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since black pepper do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Mitchell 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. If you wait any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your black pepper indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mitchell is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mitchell last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your black pepper if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mitchell

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 Mitchell

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