One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 Elgin you can estimate when to plant black pepper by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You should not plant black pepper until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Elgin 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. If you wait any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elgin. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elgin and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elgin last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your black pepper if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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