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 common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant pea is to examine the USDA zone info for Washington.

Planting Calendar for Pea

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

Pea are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pea in Washington 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

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Washington. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Washington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Washington last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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