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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant peas is to check out the USDA zone info for Chester.

Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Peas tend to make it in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Chester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Chester

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