One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for La Crosse you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant peas.

Planting Calendar for Peas

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

Peas do ok in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant peas in La Crosse is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in La Crosse. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for La Crosse is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in La Crosse you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your peas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Crosse

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in La Crosse

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crosse.