When to Plant Pea in Bedford, VA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Bedford should be looked at to determine 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 very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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 Bedford 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. If you wait any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bedford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bedford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bedford it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bedford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bedford

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