Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ottawa you can figure out when it's the best time to plant peas by reviewing 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 are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Ottawa 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 really do well. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ottawa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ottawa last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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