The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 figuring out when it's the best time to plant black pepper is to use the USDA zone info for Shippensburg.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You really shouldn't plant black pepper until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Shippensburg 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your black pepper indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shippensburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shippensburg is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shippensburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shippensburg

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 Shippensburg

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