One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Knoxville you can figure out when you can plant pea by checking out 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 do well in cold weather which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Knoxville 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 fully mature. If you are starting your pea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Knoxville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Knoxville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Knoxville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your pea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Knoxville

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