One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant bell peppers is to use the USDA zone info for Niles.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

You can not plant bell peppers until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Niles and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Niles it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

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 Niles

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