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 Chicago Ridge can be looked at to estimate 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.

You can plant peas a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Chicago Ridge 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. 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 few weeks earlier by starting your peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Ridge. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago Ridge you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your peas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.