Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Madison can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant field peas.

Planting Calendar for Field Peas

Frost tolerance for field peas:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since field peas are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Madison 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 field peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your field peas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your field peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Madison may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your field peas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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