When to plant bell pepper in Riverside

How to grow Bell pepper Riverside climate

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Not realistic in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Bell pepper in Riverside is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 103 days covers the 60–85 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: February 13 – April 9
Transplant outside: April 24 – June 18
Harvest: June 23 – September 11
Season vs crop: 103 grow days vs 60–85 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): February 5

Bell pepper in Riverside is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 103 days covers the 60–85 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Start indoors
Grow indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant.

Suitable growing days in a row103

Days to harvest60–85 days from transplant

Feb 13 – Apr 9

Start indoors

Apr 10 – Apr 16

Grow indoors

Apr 17 – Apr 23

Harden off

April 24

Transplant outside

Apr 25 – Jun 22

Grow outdoors

Jun 23 – Sep 11

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Feb 13 – Apr 9	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Grow indoors	Apr 10 – Apr 16	Seedlings grow indoors until harden or transplant.
Harden off	Apr 17 – Apr 23	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	April 24	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	Apr 25 – Jun 22	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	Jun 23 – Sep 11	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (70 – 84 °F) and tolerable (55 – 95 °F) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostFebruary 5

Safer last spring frostFebruary 5

Frost-free daysNot yet (short archive)

Earliest indoor seed startFebruary 13

Latest indoor seed startApril 9

Transplant outdoorsApril 24 – June 18

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowApril 24 – August 4 (103 days)

Expected harvestJune 23 – September 11

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 70 – 84 °F.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 55 – 95 °F.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Riverside, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 60–85 days from transplant, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Bell pepper: Apr 24 – Aug 4 (103 days)

Planting window for Bell pepper: Apr 24 – Jun 18 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Oct 19 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Riverside. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 17 · Apr 20 – Apr 26

Average 51 to 74 °F · Possible 43 to 92 °F

Growing: too cold

Planting: too cold

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 55 to 95 °F; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 70 to 84 °F band and possible readings stay within 32 °F to 95 °F. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; any chance of frost (possible low below 32 °F) makes it too cold. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Riverside

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 33.95, -117.40, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Bell pepper from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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