One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Salem you can estimate when to plant pea by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pea

Frost tolerance for pea:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant pea much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Salem 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 pea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Salem is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your pea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

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 Salem

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