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.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant pea is to look at the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Pea

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

You can plant pea quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Austin 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Austin the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your pea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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