When to Plant Peas in Chatham, NJ

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.

The best time to plant peas in Chatham can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Peas do well in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant peas
Probably not a good time to plant peas

The earliest that you can plant peas in Chatham 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. If you wait any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chatham. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chatham is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chatham last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chatham

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 Low0°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 Chatham

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