Growing Green Peas in a Home Garden (2024)

FAQs

Growing Green Peas in a Home Garden? ›

About Peas

It's essential to plant them early enough in spring so they mature while the weather is still cool! (This means planting in most parts of the United States and Canada in February, March, or April.) However, they can also be grown as a fall or winter crop in warmer regions.

About Peas

It's essential to plant them early enough in spring so they mature while the weather is still cool! (This means planting in most parts of the United States and Canada in February, March, or April.) However, they can also be grown as a fall or winter crop in warmer regions.

Peas come in two heights: bush peas and climbing peas. All benefit from some kind of support. Though bush peas are only 2 to 3 feet tall, they will flop on the ground if you don't give them something to climb on. Climbing peas may reach 6 to 8 feet tall and they need a sturdy trellis.

To sow your peas, make a little one-inch deep trench in your soil with your finger, trowel, or a pencil. I like to sow two rows on either side of a fence or trellis, allowing the peas to climb up it (which makes for easy picking and is beautiful in the garden). Then sow your peas very close together in the trenches.

Avoid planting peas near onions, garlic, and potatoes. These plants can compete for nutrients, space, or even release substances that inhibit pea growth.

Peas require full sun to thrive — that's six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. Peas will grow in partial shade, but not as vigorously.

Peas are tough plants, but the best pods have been well watered. Pigeons love peas and will destroy them at first light, so cover with netting. Pea weevil is another bother. The weevil eats tiny semi-circles into the edges of the pea shoots in spring; discard any dried pea seeds with holes in them.

We've still been sharing those container gardens but y'all will need to get creative with your own trellis-building! If you have any circular metal tomato cages around, those are just right for trellising snap peas in a bigger pot (they also work well for cucumbers and other vining plants – not just tomatoes!).

Peas grow best in soil with a pH between 6 and 7.5. Use well-rotted manure or compost at planting. Continuous use of high phosphorus fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 or 15-30-15, or high rates of manure or manure compost results in phosphorus buildup in the soil.

Plant your seeds

I freestyle it, but I plant about two seeds per inch. Don't be afraid to crowd the peas, they don't mind living closely together. Peas don't need to be thinned out.

How often should I water peas? ›

Pea shoots and tendrils are delicate and easy to break. It's also easy to overwater your peas and rot the roots. Once established, mature plants need only about a half inch of water per week. Once the pods start to develop, you can increase the amount of water to an inch a week to help them plump up.

According to my research, you should expect to get about a fourth of a pound of peas per plant per week. That means you probably need to grow several plants in order to get a good weekly harvest, something equivalent to what you'd bring home from the grocery store.

Peas do not like hot summer temperatures; they grow best in a range of 55 to 65 degrees, and temperatures over 80 degrees decrease yield.

Peas are legumes and naturally add nitrogen to the soil. When planted in dense rows, they shade the soil, helping to keep weeds away. In the fall, leaving a few pods on the vine to dry out and crack open ensures your pea patch will come back each spring without having to replant it.

Peas (Zones 3-5):

For Zones 3-5 and 6 depending on weather, green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in June, and will produce a great summer crop of fresh, crisp peas.

Peas are frost tolerant and germinate best in cool soil, so they should be planted in very early spring as soon as your garden soil is workable. Optimum soil temperature for pea germination is 40 to 70° F. If the soil is too cold (below 40 degrees), seeds take much longer to germinate and may rot.