Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Carthage you can determine when it's the best time to plant bell peppers by checking out 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.

Bell Peppers are not cold tolerant which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Carthage 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. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Carthage the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carthage is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Carthage you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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