The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant bell peppers in Virginia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Virginia 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 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Virginia the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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