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

In Pierre you can determine when to plant black pepper by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You really shouldn't plant black pepper until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Pierre is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 grow to maturity. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Pierre the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Pierre is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pierre you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pierre

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Pierre

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