One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant field peas is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond.

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 little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Richmond 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your field peas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your field peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Richmond. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your field peas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Richmond

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