DTM on most varieties is 60-65 days so it is easy to plant in Sept. and get a crop by end of October into early November. My official first frost date isn't until Nov. 10 but it is usually much later than that because of my zone 7 micro-climate here by the lake. These are quite frost tolerant so I am usually still harvesting well into Nov. or even early Dec. I don't know your first frost date down there but I'd expect it to be later than mine so adjust planting time accordingly. Dave

They do say to add a week or two to the DTM numbers when planting in the Fall. If you think about it, the days just get shorter and shorter, regardless of temperatures. I put some snow peas in last week, only to have them nibbled down by a vole. I have them covered now. Earlier in the year, when it started to heat up, I read that putting a shade cloth over my lettuce should effectively reduce the temperature by 10 degrees. I have thought this might be what I do if the peas regrow and if the temps shoot up again. It has been really pleasant here for the past few days, but I am told it will probably get hot again in August. I have the shade cloth ready.

Jennie, I can't help with your climate questions, but snap peas are wonderful fresh. Since you've never grown them before, you could always start small and see what you think before committing a large space to them. But if you've got the space available, definitely go for it. (As for the weather, if you're only talking a couple dollars for a packet of seeds, try it and see what you get -- if they don't grow well, save the rest of the pack for late winter/early spring and see if that works better.) As far as support, I've grown dwarf snap peas in containers with an inexpensive tomato cage (the flimsy WM kind) in the middle to help get them started. They do cling to each other, but they also cling to the wire cage and I think this helps them withstand wind a bit better. For harvesting, snap peas are eaten whole -- you eat both the pod and the peas inside, all at once. The pods are nice and crunchy when raw. You can also add them to stir-frys or just steam them as a side dish. We tend to mostly eat them raw in our house. They are one of those "pick a handful while out in the garden and eat half of them before you get back to the kitchen" kind of veggies. :) Good luck! Kathy

You can probably get a more local reference than this, but A&M recommends planting in region III 2/1 through 3/1, so you're right at the end. Lin Here is a link that might be useful: A&M Planting dates