When to Plant Peas in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 5a you can figure out when to plant peas by referring to 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.

Peas do well in cold which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 Zone 5a 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

In Zone 5a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your peas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.