When to Plant Peas in Sheldon, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Sheldon you will be able to figure out when it's the best time 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 are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant peas in Sheldon is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peas may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Sheldon. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sheldon and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sheldon there is a last frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sheldon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sheldon

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