When to Plant Peas in Lancaster, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant peas is to use the USDA zone info for Lancaster.


Planting Calendar for Peas

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

You can plant peas a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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 Lancaster 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

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Lancaster is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lancaster there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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