When to Plant Pea in El Cerrito, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The earliest that you can plant pea in El Cerrito should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pea

Frost tolerance for pea: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since pea are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant pea in El Cerrito 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 pea and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In El Cerrito the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Cerrito may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Cerrito it frosts late in the year after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cerrito

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cerrito

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cerrito.