One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant black pepper is to refer to the USDA zone info for Newcastle.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Since black pepper do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Newcastle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Newcastle is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Newcastle last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newcastle

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 Newcastle

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