Your Complete Guide to Growing Peas

grow peas organically garden guide

The most important piece of garden advice I can share in regard to growing peas is…grow them! Grow lots of them! Grow more than you think because suddenly you’ll find yourself eating them all right there in the garden. The probability of a pea harvest actually physically making it into the house is very low. Grow more to give it a fighting chance…or at least ask your friends and family to join you in the garden as you all eat them right there on the spot.

Peas (Pisum sativum)

When to Sow Peas:

While peas are a cool weather crop, the seeds themselves won’t want to germinate in cold, wet soil. Aim to sow when the air temps have risen a bit, but the soil still has some chill to it (45F+).

Pea Sowing Tips:

  • Peas benefit from soaking for 12-24 hours prior to sowing

  • You can coat your seeds in inoculant prior to sowing to help increase yield with larger plants. You know those little nodules amongst your pea plant roots? Those are happy soil makers as those nodules produce nitrogen. Using an inoculant encourages the formation of more nodules.

  • Sow as early as soil can be worked in compost-rich soil with good drainage.

  • Ideal soil pH is 6.5-6.8

  • Direct Sow as peas  do not like having their roots disturbed.

  • Provide support for varieties taller than 3’

  • Maine gardening adage: ”Plant peas at tax time for feasting on the Fourth of July”.

Garden Guide to Grow Shell Peas

The Difference between Wrinkled and Smooth Pea Seeds:

Some seeds, like peas, give you visual clues as to the weather they prefer.The wrinkly pea seeds are fairly cold-hardy and can handle the chilly temps of spring, whereas the smooth pea seeds prefer to wait until the weather warms up a slight bit more and is happier being sown in later spring. The two seed textures also represent different amounts of starch, with the wrinkled seeds producing sweeter peas.

Pea Planting Phenology:

When Forsythia blooms, tis time to plant peas.

Pea Companion Plant:

Companion plant with beans, corn, carrots, radish and lettuce.

Do Not Plant Peas By:

Foes are onions and garlic as they restrict the plant’s growth. I also advise against partnering with broccoli as the excess nitrogen that peas release can cause the broccoli to develop a hollow stem.

How Many Pea Plants to Grow to Feed a Family of Four: 100

Best Varieties Peas to grow in your garden

Favorite Pea Varieties to Grow:

My favorite snap pea is Sugar Ann. While Sugar Snaps are often touted as the tastiest snap, I found the Sugar Ann to be sweeter and crisper. Cascadia is another great snap pea to grow. For shelling peas, I love Iona Petit Pois, Lincoln, Wando and Green Arrow. My snow peas mainstays are Carouby de Maussane , Green Beauty and Oregon Sugar.

When to Harvest Peas:

  • Peas start converting their sugar to starch as soon as they are picked (this is the excuse I use as to why no peas actually ever make it inside our house).

  • Peas mature from the bottom up..

  • Pick your peas while they are shiny. As pea pods get older, they dull and the peas inside will be starchy instead of sweet.

  • Sugar snap peas are at their tastiest when harvested around a week after flowering.

  • Harvest snow peas while pods are immature and flat as they tend to toughen up as they grow larger.

Gard Guide to Grow Snow Peas

Eat More than the Pea Seed:

Pea tendrils and leaves are edible as well. And pea flowers make some of the prettiest edible flowers which taste like just a hint of pea.

How to Store Peas:

If you have peas that actually make it inside you house, store in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Don’t Pull Out your peas After Harvest:

When your plants are done producing, rather than pluck up the entire plant, cut the plant off at the base and leave the roots as they’re add a good helping of nitrogen back into the soil.

Succession Planting Peas:

  • Autumn sowing of peas will not yield the same abundance as spring sowings, but the cooler days help keep the pea’s sweetness bright and fresh.

  • Select a quick-maturing variety that is happy growing in the shorter-light days of Autumn.

  • Sow 8 weeks before your first frost date (this works best for folks in cooler climates).

  • Keep seeds well-watered for good germination.

  • After your spring peas are done, succession plant in that same spot cucumbers. They’ll thrive off all the nitrogen that peas leave behind.

“How lucious lies the pea within the pod.”—Emily Dickinson

Allison Vallin KostovickComment