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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant bell peppers is to refer to the USDA zone info for Carnegie.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

It's a bad idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Carnegie 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. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carnegie. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carnegie is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Carnegie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carnegie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Carnegie

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