When to Plant Pea in Cedar Falls, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 best time to plant pea in Cedar Falls should be determined by looking at 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.

You can plant pea quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pea
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pea
Probably not a good time to plant pea

The earliest that you can plant pea in Cedar Falls 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pea may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cedar Falls. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cedar Falls and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Cedar Falls you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Falls.