When to Plant Peas in Salinas, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Salinas it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant peas.


Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Peas are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant peas in Salinas 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 peas and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Salinas. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salinas and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salinas it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your peas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Salinas

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