Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant black pepper is to look at the USDA zone info for Elizabeth.

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.

Black pepper do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Elizabeth 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Elizabeth. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elizabeth is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elizabeth you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your black pepper if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabeth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elizabeth

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