When to Plant Peas in Columbus, OH

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Columbus it's a good idea to determine when you can plant peas.


Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Since peas are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Columbus 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Columbus the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbus is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbus you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peas in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

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 Columbus

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