Pea planting dates by zone

Shelling, snap and snow peas

University of Minnesota Extension says the most common pea in American gardens is the shelling pea, also called the garden or English pea; snow peas have thin pods eaten with only traces of peas inside, and sugar snap peas are eaten pod and all when the peas are nearly mature. Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center says wrinkled-seeded varieties are generally sweeter than smooth-seeded ones and are preferred for home use.

Minnesota says tall vining varieties grow up to five feet, need a trellis and bear over a longer period, while bush types two to three feet tall set their crop all at once. University of Illinois Extension says the Southern pea, or cowpea, is an entirely different warm-season vegetable grown like beans.

Sowing and supports

Plant early. Minnesota sows peas as soon as the soil has thawed and can be worked, and Clemson as early in spring as the ground can be worked. Illinois plants whenever the soil is dry enough to till without sticking to the tools. The table dates sowing 6 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze, the offset our seed-starting tool uses.

Clemson sows 1 to 1½ inches deep and 1 to 2 inches apart in single, double or wide rows, with rows 2 feet apart. Illinois sows 1 to 1½ inches deep and one inch apart, and Minnesota covers the seed with one inch of soil, six to seven inches apart in a trench or about two inches apart broadcast in a wide row. Minnesota says cracked seed is unlikely to germinate, so handle it carefully.

Clemson says even dwarf peas benefit from support, netting, trellis, wire or pea brush, put up before or right after sowing so the roots are not disturbed. Illinois says most dwarf and intermediate varieties support themselves. Wide rows let the plants cling to each other, Minnesota and Clemson say.

Clemson treats the seed with Rhizobium bacteria to increase the nitrogen-fixing nodules, especially in newly planted ground; Illinois says inoculation is less necessary in an established garden.

Frost and heat

Clemson says garden peas withstand frosts and light freezes, but the blossoms do not. Minnesota says young plants survive light frost, but once they have flowered and set a crop, frost can be damaging, so cover them if a late frost is forecast.

Heat ends the season. Minnesota says most peas need about 60 days, and stop flowering and setting pods once the weather turns hot, as it often does in June; it sows the second and third plantings a week apart for a longer harvest. Clemson says the plants suffer in summer heat and humidity, and gives early varieties 55 to 64 days and mid-season varieties 65 to 70.

Fall peas

Illinois plants heat-tolerant varieties in mid- to late summer to mature in cool fall days, and says to allow more days to the first killing frost than the listed days to maturity, because short fall days slow the crop. Clemson, by contrast, says fall plantings are not recommended in South Carolina.

The table’s last fall sowing counts back 51 days from each zone’s median first fall freeze: our crop table’s 65 days to harvest less the 14 days of light frost it takes. Read it with Illinois’s warning in mind.

Southern timing

Clemson’s planting table gives the South Carolina Piedmont March 1 to April 5 in spring and the Coastal Plain February 1 to March 15. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says English peas grow in the coolest part of Florida’s year, planted September through February in Central and South Florida and January through March in North Florida, and names ‘Sugar Snap’ and ‘Wando’ for Florida.

Texas A&M AgriLife’s home vegetable gardening guide sows English peas 2 to 8 weeks before the frost-free date in spring.

Harvest

Pick shelling peas at full size, before they turn starchy. Minnesota says they decline within one to three days of maturity, and that peas picked too early are small and lack sweetness; Illinois picks when the pods are swollen and samples a few every day or two. Clemson picks every 1 to 3 days, before the pod yellows.

Clemson picks snap peas when the pods turn plump, and snow peas while the pods are flat and the seeds tiny, usually within 7 days of flowering. Illinois picks snow peas at least every other day. Use two hands, one to hold the plant and one to pick, Clemson and Illinois say, because rough picking can stop the plant producing.

Minnesota cools peas quickly after picking, and Illinois says their sugar turns to starch within hours, even in the refrigerator.

Common problems

Illinois says yellowing, wilting lower leaves and stunting are the first signs of Fusarium wilt and root rot, worse on poorly drained soil; resistant varieties avoid the wilt, and raised beds help drainage. Clemson lists powdery mildew, Fusarium wilt, aphids and aphid-spread viruses, and says its listed cultivars are generally disease resistant.

Minnesota says powdery mildew develops in hot, dry weather, that hot days and nights abort flowers, and that cutworms can cut young plants off at the base.

Common mistakes

• Sowing late. Minnesota says peas stop flowering once the weather turns hot.
• Leaving peas on the vine too long. Minnesota says they turn starchy within one to three days.
• Putting supports up after the peas are growing. Clemson says it disturbs the roots.
• Too much nitrogen. Clemson says it reduces pod production.
• Jerking pods off the vine. Clemson says rough handling can stop the plants producing.
• Counting a fall crop by the seed packet’s days. Illinois says short fall days slow the peas down.

We found no pea source for Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi that we read for this page. The Southern timing here is Clemson’s, UF/IFAS’s and Texas A&M AgriLife’s.

Questions

How early can I plant peas?

As soon as the soil can be worked. University of Minnesota Extension sows once the soil has thawed, and Clemson as early in spring as the ground can be worked. The table on this page gives a date 6 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze, from NOAA records.

Can pea plants take a frost?

The plants can. Clemson says garden peas withstand frosts and light freezes but the blossoms do not, and Minnesota says frost can be damaging once the plants have flowered and set a crop.

Why did my peas stop producing?

Usually heat. Minnesota says peas stop flowering and setting pods when the weather turns hot, which often happens in June, and that hot weather also brings powdery mildew.

Do peas need a trellis?

Clemson says even dwarf peas benefit from some support, put up before or right after sowing. Minnesota says tall vining varieties up to five feet need a trellis, while bush types can support each other in a wide row.

Can I grow peas in the fall?

University of Illinois Extension plants heat-tolerant varieties in mid- to late summer and allows extra days before the first killing frost. Clemson says fall plantings are not recommended in South Carolina.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The planting rules are named beside the table. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

• University of Minnesota Extension, Growing peas in home gardens , by Cindy Tong, Marissa Schuh and Jill MacKenzie (Reviewed 2024). Written for: Minnesota (USDA zones 3a–5a).
• University of Illinois Extension, Peas (Home Vegetable Gardening) . Written for: Illinois (USDA zones 5a–7a).
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Garden Peas (HGIC 1328) (Updated February 3, 2023). Written for: South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b).
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, English Peas (Accessed October 2026). Written for: Florida (USDA zones 8b–11b).
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide (EHT-077) , by Joseph Masabni (June 2014). Written for: Texas (USDA zones 6b–10b).

How we write our guides

Published October 27, 2026