When to Plant Pea in Grinnell, IA

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.

The first chance to plant pea in Grinnell 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.

Pea can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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 Grinnell 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. Any later than that and 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 Grinnell. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Grinnell is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Grinnell you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your pea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grinnell

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 Grinnell

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