When to plant bell peppers in Cedar Rapids: 20 May – 5 July

In Cedar Rapids, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 28 February to 6 May; plant into a greenhouse from 29 April to 5 July; plant out into open ground from 20 May to 5 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Frontier Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km) and Earl May Garden Center (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Bell Pepper in Cedar Rapids: soil, season and weather

In Cedar Rapids the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 20 May, 28 days later.

Last spring frost	22 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	20 May, 28 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	29 April – 5 July; April outside: 4.4 °C at night, 15.4 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	25 October, 158 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	29 July – 13 September
Days left for picking	88
Daylight	12:10 on 21 March, 14:42 on 20 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, September, has 8 rainy days

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

Bell Pepper in Cedar Rapids: care after planting

Planted on 20 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

20 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
17 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 Cedar Rapids during the bell pepper season

No month of the season averages above the bell pepper card's 15–30 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 28.6 °C. Nights average below 15 °C in May (11.1 °C) and October (8.1 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.9	11.1	115	13	14:33
June	28	17.5	114	10	15:13
July	28.6	19.2	84	11	14:57
August	27.6	18.1	91	10	13:54
September	25.2	15.2	81	8	12:32
October	17.6	8.1	97	10	11:08

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

Around Cedar Rapids, Springfield is 5 days earlier and Rockford 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Davenport	100 km	17 May – 10 July	3 days earlier
Des Moines	165 km	17 May – 7 July	3 days earlier
Rockford	219 km	28 May – 8 July	8 days later
Madison	224 km	28 May – 7 July	8 days later
Peoria	224 km	18 May – 11 July	2 days earlier
Springfield	295 km	15 May – 12 July	5 days earlier

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Cedar Rapids

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 May to 5 July (from 29 April to 5 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 February to 6 May. Within 15 km of Cedar Rapids OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 3 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

MHM Ranch — farm shop
East Bertram Road 1443, 52403 Cedar Rapids · 14 km
Earl May Garden Center — garden centre
Northland Avenue Northeast 5155, 52402 Cedar Rapids · Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00; Sun 12:00–17:00 · 9 km · earlmay.com
Blooms Garden Center — garden centre
Blairs Ferry Road Northeast 1440 · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–16:00 · 9 km · bloomsgardencenter.com
Frontier Garden Center — garden centre
Blairs Ferry Road Northeast 1941, 52402 Cedar Rapids · 8 km · facebook.com

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.

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