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

A way of getting a good idea when to plant peas is to use the USDA zone info for Marshalltown.

Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Peas can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Marshalltown 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. Any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marshalltown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marshalltown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Marshalltown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marshalltown

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 Marshalltown

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