One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Keene can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since black pepper are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Keene 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. If you wait any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Keene and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Keene 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 Keene

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 Keene

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