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.

The USDA zone info for Marquette should be looked at to determine when you can plant black pepper.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You can not plant black pepper until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Marquette 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 really do well. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Marquette may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Marquette last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marquette

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 Marquette

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