One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 determining when it's a good idea to plant black pepper is to check out the USDA zone info for Oakland.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Black pepper are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Oakland 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. Any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oakland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oakland and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Oakland last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oakland

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