One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant bell peppers is to examine the USDA zone info for Ashland.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Ashland 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. If you wait any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ashland the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ashland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ashland you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ashland

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