One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Charles City can be used to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

Since peas do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Charles City 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 peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Charles City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charles City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charles City

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 Charles City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Charles City.