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.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant field peas is to refer to 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.

Field Peas tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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. If you wait any later than that and your field peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your field peas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Richmond. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

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 you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your field peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Richmond

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