One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Douglas can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Since bell peppers are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Douglas is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Douglas the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Douglas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Douglas you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Douglas

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