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.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant bell peppers is to look at the USDA zone info for Pendleton.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Pendleton 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Pendleton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Pendleton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Pendleton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your bell peppers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pendleton

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 Pendleton

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