Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant peas in Santa Clara can be determined by looking at 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.

Since peas do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Santa Clara 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. Any later than that and your peas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Santa Clara. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Clara and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Clara you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clara

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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 Santa Clara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Clara.