One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant snow peas in Santa Maria should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Snow peas

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

Since snow peas do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant snow 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 snow peas and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your snow peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your snow peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your snow 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.