Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant field peas is to look at the USDA zone info for Arcata.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Arcata is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your field peas may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your field peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Arcata. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Arcata is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your field peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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