One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Columbus you can determine when to plant pea by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pea

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

Since pea are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Columbus 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 pea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbus the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbus and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbus you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your pea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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