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.

You should be able to determine when to plant bell peppers by looking at the USDA zone info for Saco.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant bell peppers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Saco 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 grow to maturity. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Saco. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Saco is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Saco last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bell peppers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saco

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 Saco

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