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 estimating when it's possible to plant bell peppers is to look at the USDA zone info for Ashland.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

It's not a good idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Ashland 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bell peppers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ashland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ashland there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

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 Ashland

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