When to Plant Bell Peppers in Zone 3a

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.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant bell peppers in Zone 3a by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
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A good time to plant bell peppers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bell peppers
Probably not a good time to plant bell peppers

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Zone 3a 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Zone 3a. You should expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your bell peppers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.