One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant field peas in Fort Smith can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Field Peas

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

Since field peas are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Fort Smith 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. If you wait any later than that and your field peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your field peas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Smith. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Smith is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Smith you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your field peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.