When to plant bell peppers in Bologna: 16 May – 9 August

In Bologna, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 24 February to 10 June; plant into a greenhouse from 25 April to 9 August; plant out into open ground from 16 May to 9 August.

Bell Pepper in Bologna: soil, season and weather

In Bologna the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 10 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 16 May, 67 days later.

Last spring frost	10 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	16 May, 67 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	25 April – 9 August; April outside: 8 °C at night, 18.9 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	29 November, 197 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	25 July – 18 October
Days left for picking	127
Daylight	11:58 on 17 March, 14:49 on 16 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

The same dates in Bologna hold for Cucumber, Eggplant, Zucchini, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Bell Pepper in Bologna: care after planting

Planted on 16 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

16 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
13 June — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of bell pepper to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Bologna during the bell pepper season

Days average above the bell pepper card's 15–30 °C in July (32 °C) and August (31.6 °C). Months that stay below 15 °C even by day on average: November (13.4 °C). Nights average below 15 °C in May (12.5 °C), October (11.2 °C) and November (5.8 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	22.6	12.5	120	14	14:47
June	29.3	17.9	59	7	15:32
July	32	20.2	45	7	15:14
August	31.6	19.9	50	8	14:05
September	26.1	15.6	73	8	12:34
October	20.5	11.2	77	8	11:03
November	13.4	5.8	94	11	9:37

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

Around Bologna, Ferrara is 3 days earlier and Florence 12 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Modena	37 km	14 May – 10 August	2 days earlier
Ferrara	45 km	13 May – 8 August	3 days earlier
Ravenna	69 km	15 May – 22 August	1 day earlier
Florence	80 km	28 May – 7 August	12 days later
Mantua	86 km	14 May – 8 August	2 days earlier
Parma	87 km	19 May – 9 August	3 days later

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Bologna

Buy plants ready to set out from 16 May to 9 August (from 25 April to 9 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 24 February to 10 June. Within 15 km of Bologna OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 3 farm-supply shops, 4 plant nurseries, 18 markets and 15 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Mercato del Novale — market
Sun 09:00–13:00 · 1 km
Mercato Contadino CampiAperti — market
Tue 17:00–21:00 · 2 km
Mercato Contadino Campi Aperti Via Piave — market
Mon 17:00–20:00 · 2 km
Mercato di Piazza Lucio Dalla — market
Thu 17:00 - 21:00 · 2 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions