One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 USDA zone info for Shafter should be read to figure out when it's a good idea to plant sweet peas.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Peas

Frost tolerance for sweet peas:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant sweet peas slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant sweet peas in Shafter is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sweet peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet peas may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your sweet peas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shafter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your sweet peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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