When to plant bell peppers in Salem: 6 June – 28 July

In Salem, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 17 March to 29 May; plant into a greenhouse from 16 May to 28 July; plant out into open ground from 6 June to 28 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Wilco Farm Store (farm supply, 7 km) and The Nutberry Farm (farm shop, 12 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Bell Pepper in Salem: soil, season and weather

In Salem the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 6 June, 71 days later.

Last spring frost	27 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	6 June, 71 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	16 May – 28 July; May outside: 8.4 °C at night, 21 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	17 November, 164 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	15 August – 6 October
Days left for picking	94
Daylight	13:04 on 7 April, 15:28 on 6 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, July, has 1 rainy day

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

Bell Pepper in Salem: care after planting

Planted on 6 June: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

6 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
4 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 Salem during the bell pepper season

Days average above the bell pepper card's 15–30 °C in July (30.3 °C) and August (30.9 °C). Months that stay below 15 °C even by day on average: November (12 °C). Nights average below 15 °C in every month of the season, from 4.8 °C to 14.8 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	25.3	11.4	42	7	15:35
July	30.3	14.2	6	1	15:17
August	30.9	14.8	9	2	14:07
September	25.9	12.2	47	7	12:35
October	18.1	8	109	11	11:02
November	12	4.8	162	16	9:35

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant bell pepper later than Salem; the closest date is in Victoria, 7 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Portland	70 km	17 June – 2 August	11 days later
Eugene	98 km	19 June – 9 July	13 days later
Olympia	234 km	26 June – 26 July	20 days later
Medford	287 km	19 June – 30 June	13 days later
Seattle	302 km	21 June – 4 August	15 days later
Victoria	389 km	13 June – 31 August	7 days later

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Salem

Buy plants ready to set out from 6 June to 28 July (from 16 May to 28 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 17 March to 29 May. Within 15 km of Salem OpenStreetMap lists 12 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 3 plant nurseries, 2 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Wilco Farm Store — farm supply
River Road North 5013, 97303 · Mon–Sat 07:00–20:00; Sun 07:00–18:00 · 7 km · farmstore.com
Salem Saturday Market — market
Marion Street Northeast 865, Salem · Sat 09:00–15:00 · 1 km · salemcommunitymarkets.com
Taj Indian Grocery & Sweets — market
Commercial Street Southeast 5040, 97306 Salem · Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00 · 6 km
The Nutberry Farm — farm shop
66th Avenue Northeast 5522, 97305 · 12 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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