When to Plant Peas in Suffolk, VA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The earliest that you can plant peas in Suffolk can be figured out by using 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 are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant peas
Probably not a good time to plant peas

The earliest that you can plant peas in Suffolk 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Suffolk and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Suffolk you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your peas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Suffolk

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Suffolk

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