When to Plant Pea in West Columbia, SC

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for West Columbia it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant pea.


Planting Calendar for Pea

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

Pea are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant pea in West Columbia 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 pea and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in West Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for West Columbia is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Columbia last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in West Columbia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Columbia.