One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Zone 3a you can estimate when it's the best time to plant pea by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pea

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

Pea do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pea 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 pea and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pea may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Zone 3a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pea in the event of a surprise 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.