Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant field peas by looking at the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

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 means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Santa Maria 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. Any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Maria it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your field peas in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Santa Maria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Maria.