When to plant bell peppers in Portland, Maine: 20 June – 15 July

In Portland, Maine, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 31 March to 16 May; plant into a greenhouse from 30 May to 15 July; plant out into open ground from 20 June to 15 July.

Bell Pepper in Portland, Maine: soil, season and weather

In Portland, Maine the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 15 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 20 June, 66 days later.

Last spring frost	15 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	20 June, 66 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	30 May – 15 July; May outside: 8.2 °C at night, 17.3 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	4 November, 137 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	29 August – 23 September
Days left for picking	67
Daylight	13:41 on 21 April, 15:27 on 20 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, September, has 9 rainy days

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

Bell Pepper in Portland, Maine: care after planting

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

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

20 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
18 July — 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 Portland, Maine 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 26.1 °C. Months that stay below 15 °C even by day on average: November (8.4 °C). Nights average below 15 °C in June and September–November (1.2–13.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	22.6	13.9	85	11	15:25
July	26.1	17.9	95	11	15:08
August	25.3	17.2	83	10	14:01
September	21.7	13.7	80	9	12:33
October	15.6	8.1	121	10	11:05
November	8.4	1.2	95	9	9:42

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

Around Portland, Maine, Boston is 22 days earlier and Bangor 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Augusta	82 km	22 June – 14 July	2 days later
Concord	115 km	1 June – 11 July	19 days earlier
Manchester (United States)	122 km	30 May – 13 July	21 days earlier
Boston	159 km	29 May – 24 July	22 days earlier
Bangor	179 km	25 June – 14 July	5 days later
Montpelier	196 km	20 June – 27 June	same day

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Portland, Maine

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 June to 15 July (from 30 May to 15 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 31 March to 16 May. Within 15 km of Portland, Maine OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 6 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Broadway Gardens — garden centre
5 km
Pine Tree Seafood & Produce Company (Lobster Pound) — market
15 km
Loi's Natural Marketplace — market
1 km
Rosemont Market & Wine Bar — market
3 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.

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