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

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant bell peppers by using the USDA zone info for Ponchatoula.

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

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Ponchatoula 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bell peppers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bell peppers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Ponchatoula. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ponchatoula is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ponchatoula you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ponchatoula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ponchatoula

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