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.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant black pepper by referring to the USDA zone info for Ogallala.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You should not plant black pepper until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

In Ogallala the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ogallala is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ogallala it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ogallala

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 Ogallala

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