One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of estimating when you can plant sweet peas is to use the USDA zone info for Douglas.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Peas

Frost tolerance for sweet peas:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant sweet peas just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant sweet peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sweet peas may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your sweet peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Douglas. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Douglas and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Douglas you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your sweet peas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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