One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant black pepper in Hereford can be figured out by reviewing 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant black pepper until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Hereford 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Hereford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hereford is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hereford you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hereford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hereford

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