When to Plant Field Peas in Washington, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Washington it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant field peas.

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Planting Calendar for Field Peas

Frost tolerance for field peas: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Field Peas do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant field peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant field peas
Probably not a good time to plant field peas

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Washington is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant field peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your field peas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your field peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Washington. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Washington is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Washington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your field peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Washington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Washington.