When to plant bell peppers in Traverse City: 5 June – 20 July

In Traverse City, bell pepper: sow for seedlings from 16 March to 21 May; plant into a greenhouse from 15 May to 20 July; plant out into open ground from 5 June to 20 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Florigen Greenhouses (garden centre, 8 km) and Petal Pushers Greenhouse (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Bell Pepper in Traverse City: soil, season and weather

In Traverse City the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 2 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the bell pepper card — only around 5 June, 34 days later.

Last spring frost	2 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	5 June, 34 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	15 May – 20 July; May outside: 7.4 °C at night, 18 °C by day; card 15–30 °C
First autumn frost	9 November, 157 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	14 August – 28 September
Days left for picking	87
Daylight	13:00 on 6 April, 15:26 on 5 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 4 days; the driest month, November, has 15 rainy days

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

Bell Pepper in Traverse City: care after planting

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

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

5 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
3 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 Traverse City 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 25.9 °C. Months that stay below 15 °C even by day on average: October (14.7 °C) and November (7 °C). Nights average below 15 °C in June and September–November (1.5–14 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	23.7	13.7	88	10	15:34
July	25.9	17.2	72	10	15:16
August	25.1	16.9	75	10	14:06
September	22	14	78	10	12:34
October	14.7	8.2	115	15	11:02
November	7	1.5	70	15	9:36

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Bell Pepper in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant bell pepper earlier than Traverse City; the closest date is in Ann Arbor, 7 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Green Bay	192 km	27 May – 10 July	9 days earlier
Grand Rapids	201 km	28 May – 14 July	8 days earlier
Lansing	244 km	28 May – 13 July	8 days earlier
Milwaukee	266 km	28 May – 12 July	8 days earlier
Ann Arbor	315 km	29 May – 16 July	7 days earlier
Detroit	341 km	27 May – 18 July	9 days earlier

Where to buy bell pepper plants and seeds near Traverse City

Buy plants ready to set out from 5 June to 20 July (from 15 May to 20 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 16 March to 21 May. Within 15 km of Traverse City OpenStreetMap lists 13 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 market and 6 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

Florigen Greenhouses — garden centre
Silver Pines Road 4514, 49685 Traverse City · 8 km
Petal Pushers Greenhouse — garden centre
Herkner Road 6277, 49685 Traverse City · 8 km
Flaska Landscapiong — garden centre
Bristol Road 3036, 49685 Traverse City · 15 km
Sara Hardy Downtown Farmer's Market — market
Wed 08:00–12:00; Sun 07:30–12:00 · 1 km · dda.downtowntc.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.

Questions