Sweet Peas

There are three types of peas you can grow in your garden: shelling peas (or English peas), snow peas, and snap peas. All three varieties grow in a similar fashion so the methods I highlight here should work for growing which ever type you choose. I have grown all three but I have narrowed that down in recent years to only growing snow peas. English peas require an additional step of shelling before they make it to your plate which is not a big deal but I already spend too much time with food prep and the frozen peas these days are not too bad actually. Snap peas are a good choice but they seemed to get tough easier when I grew them so I’m strictly a snow pea grower now.

Peas do not require super rich soil and they actually fix nitrogen into the soil. So when planting make certain the soil is loamy and has good drainage but there is probably no reason to add fertilizer. Peas are one thing that prefer growing close together so plant seeds an inch or two apart and do not thin them after they germinate. Start peas in early spring since they are a cool weather loving plant. However since the ground is usually cool and wet in the early spring seeds may have a tendency of rotting in the soil. I recommend germinating the seeds inside in moist paper towels before putting them in the ground. This will increase your germination rate.

Peas are climbers so you will need something to support them as they grow. I usually grow in groups of approximately 15 seeds and use tomato cages for the peas to grow up.

You can use your imagination though and use anything available to support your peas. Whatever you choose however, make certain the support goes high enough for the peas to grab onto throughout the entire growing cycle. Otherwise the peas will fall back on top of themselves making harvest a nightmare – trust me I’ve been there. So here is what your peas should look like if everything works out. Notice the plants are only slightly higher than my cages.

There are a number of different varieties to choose from when selecting a snow pea. After trial and error I have found a variety called Avalanche to work best for me. They grow about 30” tall which is manageable and they don’t get tough right away which has been a problem for me with other varieties. Peas can be planted again in late summer to produce in the fall but I haven’t had as much luck with a late crop as I have with my early crop.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your peas. Please comment if you have anything to add and if you enjoyed this post please upvote and resteem.