When to plant bell peppers in Santa Barbara: 14 May – 25 August

In Santa Barbara, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 22 February to 26 June; plant into a greenhouse from 23 April to 25 August; plant out into open ground from 14 May to 25 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include 7 Day Nursery (garden centre, 4 km) and La Sumida Nursery (garden centre, 10 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Bell Pepper in Santa Barbara: soil, season and weather

In Santa Barbara the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 15 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 14 May, 60 days later.

Last spring frost	15 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	14 May, 60 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	23 April – 25 August; April outside: 7.5 °C at night, 19.6 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	15 December, 215 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	23 July – 3 November
Days left for picking	145
Daylight	11:56 on 15 March, 13:55 on 14 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

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

Bell Pepper in Santa Barbara: care after planting

Planted on 14 May: in the first weeks water every 5 days.

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

14 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
11 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 Santa Barbara during the bell pepper season

No month of the season averages above the bell pepper card's 15–30 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 29.1 °C. Nights average below 15 °C in May, June and October–December (4.9–13.8 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.2	9.4	13	2	13:57
June	25.7	13.8	3	1	14:27
July	28.8	17	0	0	14:15
August	29.1	17.1	3	1	13:28
September	26.8	15	10	2	12:25
October	23.7	11.3	20	1	11:22
November	19	7.1	46	4	10:23
December	15.7	4.9	112	6	9:52

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant bell pepper earlier than Santa Barbara; the closest date is in San Jose, 19 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bakersfield	122 km	2 April – 24 August	42 days earlier
Riverside	218 km	2 April – 29 August	42 days earlier
Fresno	259 km	10 April – 15 August	34 days earlier
San Jose	380 km	from 25 April	19 days earlier
Ensenada	405 km	29 March – 24 August	46 days earlier
Stockton	419 km	24 April – 13 August	20 days earlier

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Santa Barbara

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 May to 25 August (from 23 April to 25 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 February to 26 June. Within 15 km of Santa Barbara OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Por La Mar Nursery — plant nursery
10 km
7 Day Nursery — garden centre
State Street 3301, 93105 Santa Barbara · Mon–Sun 09:00–18:00+ · 4 km · 7daynursery.com
La Sumida Nursery — garden centre
South Patterson Avenue 165, 93111 Santa Barbara · Mon–Sat 08:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 10 km · lasumida.com
Terra Sol Garden Center — garden centre
Overpass Road 5320, 93111 Santa Barbara · 09:00–17:00 · 10 km · terrasolgardencenter.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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