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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Philadelphia you should be able to figure out when to plant pea.

Planting Calendar for Pea

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

Pea tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Philadelphia 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Philadelphia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Philadelphia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your pea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Philadelphia

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