One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant peas by checking out the USDA zone info for Portsmouth.

Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Since peas do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Portsmouth 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 peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your peas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portsmouth is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portsmouth it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your peas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth

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