Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant black pepper is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fort Stockton.

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 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 Fort Stockton 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Fort Stockton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Stockton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fort Stockton there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your black pepper in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Stockton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Stockton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Stockton.