I just planted mine a week or two ago. They're just coming up. My constraint is that I plant them where the tomatoes go, so the peas need to be DONE in late February or early March. These should be.

I am planting mine tomorrow and a bunch of straw mulch before this cold front hits us..

Thank you both! I have been planting tulips and have not gotten around to these. I'll put them in the ground this coming week. c

My peas are just coming up, and we're about to get hit by the fierce cold front. Predicted temps in the lower 20s. Now, peas are pretty cold-hardy. They can easily withstand a mild freeze, but low 20s are on the edge of what they can take. Since the sprouts are barely out of the ground, I've covered the bed with newsprint, held down gently with rocks. I'm thinking that'll protect them.

MULCH MULCH MULCH. Take advantage of their shortness and cover them with a cloth. I am mulching all my lettuce and winter greens and covering first thing in the morning with straw and a frost cloth tomorrow. Bought it tonight but could get to it before dark.Times like this , I need some stadium lighting..

Yes, good ideas. I'll throw some layers of cloth over the newsprint as well. I don't have any straw handy, though I have LOADS of red oak leaves. I suspect that piling up leaves would not be a very sensible approach, however, given that they'll all just get blown off. Newsprint is nice, though, in that it isn't very permeable. The wind doesn't blow through it, as it does with straw and cloth.

You can do leaves and THEN a cloth.

I was just thinking of that, and I was about to post a P.S. Right! Excellent idea. That's the ticket. In fact, when the freeze is over, I'll just remove the cloth, and let the leaves blow away!

Got down to 18F the other night. My just-sprouting peas were under a bed of leaves covered with cloth. They came though great. I had a couple of tarps and a sleeping bag over some peppers, and the second night I had a light bulb under them. We'll see if they survived. Peas are vastly more cold hardy than peppers, but it would be great to keep my three-year old peppers alive and producing.