Garden, English, or Snap Peas
Pisum sativum. FABACEAE.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Garden, English, or Snap Peas
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow garden, English, or snap peas in the accompanying table’s tabs:
-
- How many peas to plant
- Growing conditions for garden, English, or snap peas
- When to plant garden, English, or snap peas
- How to plant garden, English, or snap peas
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning garden, English, or snap peas
- Companion plantings for garden, English, or snap peas
- How to harvest, store, and use garden, English, or snap peas
Growing Garden or Snap Peas
Cool season. Vining and bush-forming plants, 2–6 ft. (60–180 cm) tall, bear canoe-shaped green pods, to 5 in. (13 cm) long, with 4–10 succulent green peas. Cultivars include super-sweet and traditional English pea.
Grow pole varieties on vertical supports in small-space garden to maximize yield from limited growing areas.
Sugar and snow peas are closely related to garden peas and are grown primarily for their pods rather than for the peas inside them [see: Sugar and Snow Peas], while all the southern peas are a subspecies of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata ssp. unguiculata) [see: Southern Peas, Cowpeas, Crowder, or Black-Eyed Peas].
Garden Pea Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 30 plants per household member.
How to Plant
Garden or English peas germinate in 8–12 days; snap peas, 6–10 days.
Average Climates: Plant seed peas or transplant seedlings in full sun in early spring–midsummer when soil warms to 40–70°F (4–21°C).
Mild-Winter Climates: Plant seed peas in autumn, after heat has broken and 3–4 months of warm weather remains.
Autumn Gardens: Sow seed in July for harvest in Autumn.
Bush: Sow 2 seeds, 2 in. (50 mm) deep, 2–3 in. (50–75 mm) apart, in an alternating diagonal pattern, thinning to 4 in. (10 cm) apart, in rows 3–4 ft. (90–120 cm) apart, installing support stakes and strings 2 ft. (60 cm) tall, 1 ft. (30 cm) apart, at time of planting.
Pole: Sow 1 seed, 2 in. (50 mm) deep, 2 in. (50 mm) apart, in a circle 16–20 in. (40–50 cm) in diameter planted around a pole, thinning to 8 plants. Plant successions every 2–3 weeks.
Best Conditions for Growth
50–75°F (10–24°C). Best in spring before soil warms to 80°F (27°C), days lengthen, and in autumn. Shade plants at temperatures over 80°F (27°C).
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. 5.5–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep. Rotate plantings with cole-family vegetables in alternating years.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist; avoid wetting foliage and withhold water when flowers appear. Fertilize only at planting with 5–10–10 formula. Mulch. Cultivate. Aphid and powdery mildew susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, radishes, and turnips.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
55–70 days. Pick when pods bulge and before they develop a waxlike coating; reserve any withered or yellowed pods for drying or use as seed stock; for pods used in stir-fried dishes or raw in salads, select stringless cultivars and pick when 1–2 in. (25–50 mm) long, or plant super-sweet cultivars [see Peas, Sugar or Snow]. Harvest frequently to extend development of new flowers and pods. Chill in ice water and shell soon after harvest for sweetest texture and flavor.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in pod in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 1–3 weeks; shelled, 1 week; blanched, chilled, and frozen, 4–6 months; dried and stored in porous fabric bags, 1 year. Dry shelled peas on waterproof cloth in a warm, protected spot.
Related