2026 season
Central Florida pepper calendar
Dated 2026. Current month is marked on the board. Planting windows come from Ask IFAS HS732 (Central Florida: August to September and January to March) and UF/IFAS Peppers. Climate pages belong to NWS Melbourne and FAWN. Outlooks are labeled outlook. This page does not invent rainfall totals or harvest yields.
Now
August 2026 · HS732 Aug to Sept window is open
Ask IFAS HS732 lists August to September as one of two Central Florida pepper planting slots. UF/IFAS Peppers says to start seed indoors in midsummer for that early-fall planting. Late August is the outdoor slot, not a new indoor sow unless a September set is still planned. Indoor lead is 4 to 8 weeks on UF/IFAS Starting Transplants Indoors.
- Jan to Mar HS732 Central Florida spring transplant window
- Apr to May Spring set fruits. No new HS732 pepper row
- Jun to Jul Midsummer indoor start for Aug to Sept (IFAS Peppers)
- Aug to Sep HS732 Central Florida fall transplant window
- Oct to Nov IFAS Datil harvest window continues July to November
- Dec No HS732 pepper planting row
Sources: Ask IFAS HS732 / CV130 · UF/IFAS Peppers · Starting Transplants Indoors
Month cues. Transplant, flower, first pick
Cues stay on IFAS language. Days-to-harvest belong on the cultivar packet and the IFAS page, not as a house clock. No freeze date and no rainfall total are printed here.
| Months | Transplant | Flower / fruit | First pick |
|---|
| Jan to Mar | HS732 Central Florida spring transplant window | Spring set begins after the plant is in the ground | When fruit is full size for the type. UF/IFAS Peppers |
| Apr to May | No new HS732 pepper row | Spring set fruits | Pick ripe fruit on the spring plants already in |
| Jun to Jul | Indoor start for the fall slot. UF/IFAS Peppers; 4 to 8 weeks on Starting Transplants Indoors | Summer plants still flower if they survived heat | IFAS Datil harvest window is July to November on the datil page |
| Aug to Sep | HS732 Central Florida fall transplant window | Fall set flowers after pot-up | Full-size fruit for the type; packet days stay on the packet |
| Oct to Nov | No HS732 planting row | Fall plants still set in warm stretches | Datil harvest window continues July to November (IFAS Datil) |
| Dec | No HS732 pepper planting row | None | No harvest figure invented here |
Climate pages, not a house rain gauge
NWS Melbourne (MLB) is the National Weather Service office for east-central Florida, including the Orlando metro. Climate normals, monthly summaries, and hazardous-weather products live on that office. This page does not reprint a 2026 rainfall total.
FAWN (Florida Automated Weather Network, UF/IFAS) publishes station rainfall and temperature for growers. Read the station nearest the planting. A number invented here would not be a FAWN reading.
Outlook (labeled outlook)
NOAA Climate Prediction Center seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks are probability maps, not a yard of rain and not a pepper yield. Treat the current CPC three-month outlook as an outlook. Do not read it as a harvest.
Climate Prediction Center. Updated on this page 2026-08-31.
