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

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant black pepper by referring to the USDA zone info for Minneapolis.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant black pepper until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Minneapolis is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 grow to maturity. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Minneapolis. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Minneapolis may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Minneapolis you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Minneapolis

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