Grow Your Own Organic Peas at Home
There are few things more delicious from the garden than a tender pea fresh from the vine. As a bonus for growing your own peas, you can also enjoy fresh pea shoots, which I consider a real cullinary treat.
Peas are overall easy to grow, they don't take up too much space in your garden, and they will surely bring you a little bit of hap-pea-ness come harvest time.
Let's look at the different types of peas you can grow at home and how to plant, tend, and harvest your own organic peas.
My Favorite Varieties of Peas to Grow
There are two overall types of peas: those that grow on a vine and those that grow on a bush. Vining peas can grow up to 8' tall on what are called indeterminate vines, so they'll need some type of structure to climb. They'll continue to produce fruit for weeks and weeks until the temps are no longer right for them.
Bush peas only grow a couple of feet tall and do not need a trellis. Instead of giving you a slow stream of pea pods, they'll give you lots of pods at once and then finish up their life cycle.
Seed packages don't always make it super clear which type you're getting. Look for things like how tall the plants are expected to grow (under 3' is probably bush); words like "climbing," "pole" and "trellis" might be used for vining varieties.
I personally prefer growing vining peas because I love how they look climbing a trellis and I get more production from them over a longer period of time.
Here are my favorite kinds of peas to grow:
SnowPeas
Snow peas are typically harvested before the little peas have fully developed in the pod, so the result is an almost-flat pod at harvest time. They're what we call mange tout, which is French for "eat all" because the entire pod is edible. They don't need to be shelled since their seeds are still tender and sweet and since their fibers grow in only one direction. Snow peas, as you might expect, can really withstand frost and snow.
Traditional Garden Peas
Also called English peas and shelling peas, these are sweet little peas that grow inside tough outer shells that must be discarded (shelled) before eating. If you eat canned peas from the store, you'll be familiar with the taste of English peas.
Sugar Snap Peas
These peas, hands down my favorite, were created by Dr. Calvin Lamborn to marry the sweetness of the garden pea to the mange tout quality of the snow pea. Sugar snaps are round and juicy, and you don't have to shell them to enjoy them. They're often considered the most flavorful variety of pea.
Check out Sugar Magnolias if you want a beautiful plant with purple flowers and purple snap peas.
Bush Varieties of Sugar Snaps
There are several different bush varieties of sugar snaps, including sugar bon snap peas, sugar daddy peas, and sugar Anns. These pea varieties only grow to be about 1' to 2' tall, so they won't need a trellis.
A Quick Note on Sweet Peas
Sweet peas are grown for their beautiful flowers, and they're not for eating. Their seeds are actually mildly poisonous, so I don't recommend growing them if you have small children or anyone hanging around who doesn't understand they can't just eat whatever they see in the garden.
Sweat pea vines look really gorgeous growing up a trellis. They're similar in their growth pattern to sugar snaps and snow peas, though sweat peas have thinner stems. They also have similar needs: something to climb on, a loose sandy loam soil, and cool weather. They don't need a lot of fertilizer.
If you'd like to grow sweet peas (pictured below), just make sure to grow them away from your regular peas and make sure everyone in your family knows which plants are which.
Are Peas a Fruit or Vegetable?
Peas, like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, are common fruiting plants you might grow in your vegetable garden. From a botanical standpoint, peas are fruit.
From a cullinary perspective, peas are vegetables. We typically call any fruits that aren't sweet vegetables.
Knowing that peas are fruiting plants is useful to know what to expect if you're growing peas for the first time.
Leaves, Roots & Fruit Teaches You the Step by Step to Grow as a Gardener
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Nicole Johnsey Burke—founder of Gardenary, Inc., and author of Kitchen Garden Revival—is your expert guide for growing your own fresh, organic food every day of the year, no matter where you grow. More than just providing the how-to, she gives you the know-how for a more practical and intuitive gardening system.
Where's the Best Place to Grow Peas?
When we first started our kitchen garden in Houston, I was thrilled to take the raised beds for a spin, so to speak. I filled them with lettuce seed and planted peas near the bamboo trellises at the back of the beds. As the weeks went on, the lettuce plants took off, but the peas seemed stunted, growing just an inch or so every week.
I knew my soil was healthy and rich in organic material. I knew the pea seeds had come from a great company. That left one explanation: lack of sun. The back of the beds, where the peas were planted, was wedged between our fence and the neighbor's tree. It was the last area to receive sun in the mornings and the first to be shaded in the afternoon.
Take it from me and my sad little pea plants: Peas need 8 to 10 hours of sunlight on as many as their leaves as possible to grow to their fullest potential.
Aside from a sunny spot, peas just need a loose sandy loam soil and good drainage. I like to grow peas in raised beds, but you can also grow them in the ground after amending your topsoil with some coarse sand and compost.
When's the Best Time to Grow Peas?
Peas grow best in the cool season. They're happiest when temps are between 45°F and 75°F, but they'll continue to thrive until temps climb to about 80°F or 85°F.
For those of you who live in colder climates, the best time to grow peas will be during your early spring and fall. Peas are frost hardy, so you can go ahead and plant your peas out in the garden before the threat of frost has passed, basically as soon as your soil can be worked. When I lived in Chicago, I put my peas in the ground in March, even though I still had two months of anticipated frost. In the fall, you can keep your pea plants in the garden past your first frost date, but know that frost can harm flowers and developing pea pods.
If you live in a warmer climate, you can grow peas throughout the late fall and winter months (October through March). Once the weather warms, your plants will become stressed and their leaves will turn brown. That's your sign to remove them from the garden and replace them with beans.
What Are the Best Trellises for Growing Vining Peas?
You'll need some kind of sturdy structure at least 6' tall for vining peas to climb. I recommend metal garden trellises for their strength, beauty, and durability. Panel, obelisk, and arch trellises are all great options for peas. You could also use cattle panel or make your own wood trellises out of sturdy sticks or bamboo. I used to make my own teepee-shaped trellises using sticks and twine, though vigorous vines would sometimes cause them to collapse.
Unless your structure has many thin rungs every couple of inches, you'll need to add some twine to give your pea plants more layers to climb. I'll talk more about that in a bit.
What Are the Best Companion Plants for Peas?
I don't focus too much on intentionally companion planting. Instead, I focus on filling my garden with a wide variety of plants that all like to grow in the same season. I enjoy growing leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, arugula, and even cabbage around the base of whatever trellis is supporting my vining peas.
Step One to Plant Peas
Soak Peas Overnight to Improve Germination
I recommend soaking your peas overnight (or for about 12 hours) before planting them. This speeds up the process of germination by penetrating the seed coat, which is particularly thick on peas. You'll notice the peas will begin to swell after they've been in the water for a bit—this is what you want. They're ready to burst open and start putting on their best roots and pea shoots.
Make sure to plant your peas immediately after soaking.
The peas in the picture below were not soaked, and I ended up not getting very good germination from them.
Step Two to Plant Peas
Dig a Trench for Peas
If you're growing a vining pea variety, use a dibber to dig a trench that's not quite 1" deep. Make sure this trench is right up next to the structure you intend for it to climb. You can draw a second trench about 2" from the first so that you can plant another row of peas at a stagger.
For bush peas, use your dibber to make shallow holes every 6" or so; you can plant 4 bush peas per squarefootinthegarden.
Shop the Perfect Dibber for Planting Peas
A dibber is invaluable when planting seeds, bulbs, and seedlings, even in grass or harder soils.Simply push the point into the soil to make a hole to receive the plant; wiggle around a little to create a larger hole.
These tools have been individually made with great care to be both a thing of beauty and to bring you enormous pleasure from using them as you garden.
Step Three to Plant Peas
Place Pea Seeds
You can plant vining peas close together since they'll be growing up instead of out. I typically space them 2" to 3" apart along the little trench. Make sure to stagger the peas in your second row.
For bush varieties, place just one pea seed per hole. Wait till you've got all your pea seeds placed before you cover them up with some soil or compost.
Step Four to Plant Peas
Water
Give the garden a good soak to welcome the peas to their growing space. Water the garden every single day for the next 2 weeks. You don't need to flood your vegetable garden; you just want to make sure those pea seeds never dry out.
You should see little pea shoots pop up within 5 to 10 days. If no shoots emerge by day 8 or say, consider coming back in and replanting.
How to Start Peas by Seed Indoors
It's generally recommended that you direct sow peas in the garden, but you can also start peas indoors if you'd like. I actually prefer starting peas indoors because the seeds I direct sow either don't germinate or take forever, even when I soak them first. I get much better germination indoors.
To start peas indoors, I recommend using root trainers instead of regular seed starting cells. Root trainers give a large space for the roots to develop, and you can open up them up to remove the root ball without overly disturbing the pea seedling. You can use them again and again, so they're a great investment.
After soaking the seeds overnight, you'll fill the root trainers with pre-moistened seed starting mix and plant one pea seed per cell. Push the seeds down to about the first joint of your finger and then cover with more seed starting mix.
Put your root trainers in a tray filled with an inch of water and cover with a dome or towel to keep in moisture until seeds germinate. Then make sure to place under grow lights for 12 hours a day.
How to Transplant Peas
Nothing's as cute as a baby pea plant! Treat them like little babies and handle them very gently.
You can transplant peas about 2 to 3 weeks after starting them indoors. Wait for a nice, cool day to move them outside. It's okay if you still have a chance of frost. Remember, peas are frost hardy.
When you're transplanting plants, you want to remove them from their container and then get them into the soil as soon as possible. Don't have delicate little root balls hanging out for a long time. I recommend using a dibber to dig a little trench before you pull a single pea plant out of its little pot. Your trench should be as deep as the container the peas are currently growing in.If you're growing vining peas, make sure your trench is right up along the trellis or support structure.
Once you've dug a little trench, add some fresh compost to the bottom of the trench. You could also add some mycorrhizae dissolved into water to stimulaterootgrowth.
Be extra gentle when easing your pea seedlings from their container since peas have very delicate little roots. Handle them as little as possible to minimize transplant shock.
Bury the pea plants right at their neck, where the stem meets the roots. Space each plant about 2" to 3" apart along the trellis. Push some soil and compost around the edge of the seedling.
Once you've gotten your first row planted, dig a second trench right alongside the first, just 2" away. Plant more peas in this trench in the windows of the peas in the first row.
Water your peas in well. If you have deer, squirrels, or bunnies that like to nibble on your sprouts, I recommend covering your transplants with some mesh so they don't get eaten overnight.
How to Tend Growing Pea Plants
Every week, you'll water your plants deeply, support them with some compost, tie vining peas to their structure, and prune. If you keep up a regular schedule, you'll have peas in no time.
How to Water Pea Plants
For best results, keep your peas really nice and watered, especially in their first 2 weeks of growth. Check the moisture level every few days to make sure your peas aren't drying out. When the top inch or so of soil is dry, give your plants a good soak at the root level. If you're setting a watering schedule, aim to give your plants 1" to 2" of water per week.
How to Fertilize Pea Plants
When you're growing peas, you want to avoid nitrogen-heavy fertilizers, which will encourage your plants to grow more leaves, not peas. I typically just feed my peas with a little side dressing of compost (I like mushroom compost) or some earthworm castings. Push the compost right around the base of the vines to encourage your plants to flower and then fruit. If your plants have started to flower, you could even hill some compost up around the vine since the plant will soon have to support a lot of weight.
How to Tie Up Peas Growing on a Trellis
Peas do have tiny tendrils, but they're not as adventurous as other climbing plants when it comes to reaching out and finding something to attach to. Unless your structure has lots of nice, thin bars starting at the very bottom, you'll need to help your peas find the trellis. If you slack off in your duties, your pea plants can become all sorts of tangled up and even stall their growth. That's why this tending task is one of your most important jobs when growing peas.
I recommend starting to tie peas up as soon as they're 2" to 3" tall. If you want extra credit, you could even add some twine to the structure on the day you plant your peas.
Follow these steps to tie up your peas.
Step One
Grab some string or twine (I like jute because it's gentle and won't tear fragile pea tendrils) and a pair of scissors. Cut a piece of twine long enough to go around the entire base of the trellis.
Step Two
Encircle all the pea plants with the twine, kind of like you're corralling your little pea herd near the trellis. Tie the twine in a little bow, keeping some tension on the line. Make sure to take care around the fragile pea shoots. You could tie the string above them, slide it down about half an inch below the top of the shoots, and then gently tuck the pea shoots inside.
Step Three
Continue adding rows of twine every 2" to 3" as you go up the trellis, like ladder rungs. That way, the peas will have something to grab as soon as their tendrils go looking, which will make them feel nice and secure.
Step Four
Repeat every week until your peas are at least 12" tall. They should be able to take it from there. If you notice tendrils that don't have something to latch onto, don't hesitate to add some more twine.
How to Prune Pea Plants
Once you see flowers appearing on the plant, prune any non-flowering branches underneath the flowers. These are unproductive stems, so they're not really necessary anymore. Removing them means the plant can put more energy toward fruiting.
Remember, pea shoots—those young leaves, hollow stems, and delicate tendrils—are edible (and delicious!), so bring them inside and make a little pea shoot dish. I love to stir fry them with some oil, salt, and a little vinegar for an easy yet gourmet garden-to-table meal long before my plants have produced any actual peas.
While you're pruning, remove any leaves that have holes in them, that are discolored, or that look tired.
Shop Our Favorite Garden Pruners
How Long Does It Take Peas to Grow?
After developing lots of vines and leaves, your pea plants will eventually produce flowers. Pods form from the base of each flower about 5 to 7 days after the petals have dropped. If all goes well, you should start having pods ready to harvest about 50 to 60 days after sowing pea seeds.
You can continue to harvest pods through about week 12 of these plants' growing cycle if the weather stays nice and cool and the plants stay well-picked. Let's look at how to harvest these pods.
How to Harvest Peas
When it comes to harvesting peas, you want to keep "early and often" in mind. Harvest peas as soon as they're big enough to eat, especially if you're growing a vining type, and then come out frequently to harvest more. Keeping the plant well picked frees up energy to grow more pods. That might mean picking a couple pods every day during the peak of your plants' production.
If you're growing a snap pea, the pods will be sweetest before the peas inside have swelled up enough to really press against the sides of the shell. Waiting too long to harvest gives the sugars inside the pod more time to turn into starch, which can eventually make the pod inedible.
To harvest peas, use a clean pair of pruners to cut the stem right above the pod. Start at the base of the pea plant and work your way up as you look for pods ready to be enjoyed. I know it's tempting to just pull peas off the vine with your fingers, but you risk damaging the vine, which would end the pea party. One of my kids accidentally pulled an entire plant out of the ground once (peas have shallow root systems).
Each plant should produce at least 20 to 30 pods. That's a lot when it comes to fruiting plants, but you'll need a lot of pods to feed your family (especially since fresh, tender peas have a way of disappearing before they even make it indoors at my house).
How to Store Peas
Peas, unfortunately, don't save very well. This is why most of the peas you'll find at the grocery store are frozen or canned.
For best storage, don't wash your pods when you bring them inside. Store them dry in a paper bag in the vegetable drawer of your fridge. Keep them only for a couple days so you can enjoy them when they're at their best. I typically just keep peas until I've harvested enough for a decent side dish for my family.
Avoid storing peas at room temp. Within just a few hours outside of the fridge, their sugar content will begin turning into starch.
Shop Our Favorite Trellises for Growing Peas
How to Grow Dried Peas
If you're not interested in growing peas for their fresh green pods, you can, of course, leave them on the plant to turn brown and become pea seeds.
About two weeks before the seeds are ready to be harvested, stop watering the plants to give the seeds time to sweeten up and finish maturing on the vine. Once the pods are completely dry and the peas inside feel hard, pick them, shell them, and store the dried peas in an airtight container. You can soak them for cooking or keep them for next year's planting.
You can also let them sit for a bit and grow them as microgreens. I love peas microgreens because they're more substantial than other microgreens. You can eat them on their own as a little side dish.
Fun Facts About the History of Peas
I'm just gonna leave this here in case you're interested. It's really cool to think about how many millions of humans have grown peas before us.
- Peas have been a staple food since 3000 BCE. They might even have been enjoyed 10,000 years ago!
- We're not sure if peas originated in Thailand, Burma, the Middle East, or Ethiopia.
- In earlier times, peas were mostly grown for their hard seeds, which store much better than fresh peas. Hard peas helped civilizations survive winter.
- The Ancient Romans took peas with them to Britain during the time of the Roman Empire.
- Christopher Columbus planted peas when he landed in the Americas in 1492.
- Snow peas first appeared in 17th-century England, where they were very popular.
- Thomas Jefferson planted more than 30 varieties of peas in his gardenat Monticello.
- The Chinese adapted snow peas in the 19 century, which is why they're also known as Chinese peas.
It's Pea Growing Time!
Follow this guide to grow about $50 worth of peas on one trellis. Peas are a wonderful addition to your cool-season garden. All you have to do is plant some seeds right along a trellis, and pretty soon, you'll be harvesting pod after delicious pod and popping them into your mouth for a little morning snack.
I hope growing your own peas brings you as much hap-pea-ness as it does me. (So bad, I know.)
Peas and blessings! Peas and blessings! (I'll stop.)
