The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Santa Maria it's possible to determine when 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 tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant 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 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 fully mature. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Santa Maria. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your peas if you have 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.