For many gardeners, purple hull peas are a summer staple. They are tasty, nutritious, and easy to grow. But when is the best time to add them to your garden? How late can you plant purple hull peas?type of bean. They are tasty, nutritious, and easy to grow. But when is the best time to add them to your garden? How late can you plant purple hull peas?
To be able to harvest purple hull peas, you should plant them at least two months before your average first frost date. The specific date will depend on the zone you live in, but most gardeners can successfully plant purple hull peas as late as the beginning of August.
Keep reading to learn more about how late you can plant purple hull peas while still getting a good harvest.
How Late Can You Plant Purple Hull Peas?
Plants like lettuce and beans can handle cold temperatures, but purple hull peas love the heat. In fact, they shouldn’t even be planted until daytime temperatures are consistently in the 70s.
Because purple hull peas love the heat, they won’t produce very well if you plant them near the end of the summer. They aren’t particularly cold-hardy and will die if they experience a frost.
Instead, you should plant your purple hull peas two to three months before your typical first frost date. Since most varieties take anywhere from 50 to 70 days to start bearing fruit, you’ll want to make sure they have plenty of time to grow. They produce the largest harvests when they are able to experience plenty of hot days.
If you’re not sure when the first frost date is where you live, you’re not alone. Thankfully, the USDA has created a plant hardiness zone map that can help. Once you know your plant hardiness zone, you’ll be able to find the average first frost date for that zone. Here are a few examples:
- Zone 1: Anywhere from August 25th-31st
- Zone 6: Anywhere from October 17th-31st
- Zone 9: Anywhere from November 25th-December 15th
To find out when to plant your purple hull peas, take the average first frost date from the zone you live in and plant your peas at least two months before that date. If your season allows for planting three to four months before the first frost date, you’ll have even greater results.
If you live in the southern United States, you may be able to plant your purple hull peas as late as August or September. However, if you live in a northern state like Minnesota, you may need to plant your purple hull peas in June.
Do Purple Hull Peas Produce All Season Long?
Purple hull peas will keep producing as long as the temperatures outside are warm. This is one of the perks of planting them at the beginning of the summer—you can harvest peas all summer long. Just be sure to provide them with plenty of water so that they can continue to grow.
Final Thoughts
Purple hull peas are easy to grow and provide valuable nutrition that can fuel your body all day long. However, they need plenty of time and heat to thrive. By checking your plant hardiness zone and planting at least two months before your area’s average first frost date, you can make sure your purple hull peas are able to thrive.
