Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant field peas.

Planting Calendar for Field Peas

Frost tolerance for field peas:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since field peas are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Zone 3a 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 field peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your field peas may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your field peas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. You should expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 3a is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your field peas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.