One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant black pepper by looking at the USDA zone info for Donna.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Black pepper require warm weather which means that you really should 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 Donna is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Donna. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Donna and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Donna last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your black pepper if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Donna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Donna

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