When to Plant Peppers in Georgia: Spring and Late-Season Dates
Planting dates for peppers from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Georgia, with 50% frost dates from NOAA for Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, and Augusta Bush Field Airport and one worked case.
Updated
Figures checked against their sources on ; next check .
Open University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s calendar to the pepper line and you find 3 parts of the state, each with its own spring and fall entries. Dates here are printed as months or as offsets, not as exact days, so the entries read: Middle Georgia (April, with the other frost-tender crops), South Georgia (Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier), and North Georgia (Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties).
Georgia’s dates, row by row
UGA’s February entry says peppers and eggplants take 8 weeks to grow from seed to transplant size.
In May it says to locate mulching materials for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, Irish potatoes, okra and lima beans. In September and October it says to harvest mature green peppers and tomatoes before frost gets them.
| Part of the state | Spring planting | Late-season planting |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Georgia | April, with the other frost-tender crops | Not dated; UGA lists no fall planting for peppers |
| South Georgia | Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier | Fall planting dates as much as 2 weeks later |
| North Georgia | Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties | Fall planting dates about 2 weeks earlier |
What to know about this source
The University of Georgia’s vegetable garden calendar is a month-by-month list for middle Georgia, a belt across the state from Columbus through Macon to Augusta. To work out a fall planting date, it says to find the frost date and count back the days to maturity plus 18 days for harvest.
Where a cell reads “Not dated; UGA lists no fall planting for peppers”, the source gives no planting window for that season, and this page leaves it that way.
Starting peppers indoors
How early to sow indoors depends on the crop more than the state, and the saved sources agree on the shape if not the numbers; UNH’s figure is 8 to 10 weeks.
Peppers take longer than tomatoes in every source that gives both: UMN says 9 weeks and UGA 8, against 5 to 6 and 6 for tomatoes. NDSU and Montana State, saved here for tomatoes only, say nothing about peppers.
Once the seedlings are ready, UNH says peppers are safe to set out 2 weeks after the last frost, after hardening off.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire | 8 to 10 weeks from seed to transplant; 2 weeks after the last frost is safe to set out |
| University of Minnesota | Mid-March in Minnesota, 9 weeks indoors |
| NC State | Any transplant: seed 6 to 8 weeks before setting out (central North Carolina calendar) |
| University of Georgia | 8 weeks from seed to transplant size (middle Georgia calendar) |
Frost dates for Georgia cities
NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals give nine probability levels for each station; the table keeps only the middle one, the even-odds date, and the links open the rest.
Regions in the last column come from the source’s wording, never from our reading of a map.
| Station | Last spring 32°F | First fall 32°F | Region in Georgia’s calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Georgia | March 15 | November 20 | Not stated by the source |
| Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, Georgia | March 21 | November 10 | Middle Georgia |
| Augusta Bush Field Airport, Georgia | March 23 | November 9 | Middle Georgia |
| Columbus Metro Airport, Georgia | March 5 | November 23 | Middle Georgia |
| Savannah International Airport, Georgia | March 2 | November 30 | Not stated by the source |
Worked example
Start from Augusta Bush Field Airport: the station’s median last spring freeze is March 23, and its median first fall freeze is November 9.
Only months are given for Middle Georgia: April. The frost date of March 23 lands before the window opens.
Do the same subtraction for your own town: choose its nearest station in the frost dates tool, take the 50% dates, and compare them with the row for your part of Georgia.
Before you rely on these dates
The circular gives the last planting dates for fall crops, not a window, so the second column is a deadline.
Soil that is cold or soaked can hold a crop back even inside the printed window, so check the ground as well as the calendar.
Sources (5)
- University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (Bob Westerfield), Vegetable Garden Calendar, Circular 943, published with full review March 10, 2026 extension.uga.edu
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals (frost/freeze probabilities by station) ncei.noaa.gov
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden (fact sheet) extension.unh.edu
- University of Minnesota Extension, Starting seeds indoors (page reviewed 2026) extension.umn.edu
- NC State Extension (Bradley, Gunter, Sherk and Driscoll), Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs, AG-756-01, published July 8, 2016 content.ces.ncsu.edu