One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Austin you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant peas by referring to 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 more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant peas 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 peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to really do well. 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 March 15 in Austin. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Austin may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your peas if you have 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.