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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Hazel Crest you should be able 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.

Since peas are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Hazel Crest 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hazel Crest. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hazel Crest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hazel Crest last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your peas in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hazel Crest

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 Hazel Crest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hazel Crest.