One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant black pepper is to look at the USDA zone info for Trenton.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You should not plant black pepper until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Trenton 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. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Trenton. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Trenton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Trenton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Trenton

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 Trenton

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