Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant field peas is to check out the USDA zone info for Rochester.

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 bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Rochester 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rochester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rochester may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your field peas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rochester

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