When to Plant Bell Peppers in Schenectady, NY

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's possible to figure out when you can plant bell peppers by looking at the USDA zone info for Schenectady.


Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

You can not plant bell peppers until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bell peppers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bell peppers
Probably not a good time to plant bell peppers

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Schenectady 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bell peppers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Schenectady the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Schenectady may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Schenectady you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Schenectady

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 Schenectady

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