Growing peas in your garden is a snap with these must - know planting , tending , and harvesting tips .
Bob Stefko
Even beginner can learn how to imbed and uprise pea plant , a garden front-runner for 1000 of long time . researcher have date cultivated pea back to 10,000 BCE in the Near East and Central Asia . In seventeenth - century France , in the court of Louis XIV , elites considered pea a delicacy .
Credit:Bob Stefko
It ’s no marvel why peas(Pisum sativum)are so democratic . Protein - racy peas are full of vitamins , fiber , and mineral , and help protect against heart disease . They’re versatile and easy to throw into apasta dishand can carry their own as a side mantrap .
You’ve Got Tons of Choices
Peas are yearly with hundreds of varieties . They ’re part into several categories , including bush and vining types . you may choose the kind of peas you want , based on quality such as disease electrical resistance and flora size .
Sweet peas(Lathyrus odoratus ) are a different flora all told . Grown for their lovely scented flowers and rise nature , sweet peas are a gorgeous spring flower , but not for eating .
Where to Plant Peas
Plant peas directly in garden beds or containers . Any situation withfull sunandadequate drainagewill oeuvre . While they favour slightly acidic soil , they tolerate a wide pH range .
In container , use general - purpose potting soil and ensure there is good drainage . Pots should be relatively large , about 12 inches across . Planting in container is a gravid way to have climb peas cower up the posts of your arbour or provide shade and concealment on a trellis — and they ’re also a tasty snack .
How and When to Plant Peas
flora pea in early bound , as soon as the land can be make for . If you are n’t sure , industrial plant three to four weeks before your typicallast Robert Lee Frost date in spring . If you ’re grow a vining type thatneeds a trellis , this is the time to establish it so you do n’t risk damaging the plant roots later . They ’ll need something to climb sooner than you remember .
If you have n’t grown peas in your garden before , dip the seed in a commercial-grade inoculum — which helps the industrial plant capture nitrogen — before imbed .
verbatim seed peas in the garden . Use your finger or a trowel to make a trench about an inch deep . Drop pea seed 2 inch aside , treat and firm the stain , and water well . There ’s no need to reduce them later .
Credit:Dana Gallagher
For a fall craw , plant peas about two months before yourfirst frost in fall . take early maturing varieties .
To extend the grow season , cast row covers over your pea to protect the crop from lowering frost in early spring or late fall . In the summer , mulch can avail cool the soil .
Peas Care Tips
Peas are easy to grow and do n’t take much care other than weeding and tearing . They germinate and originate readily , and when grown in the right time of year , they render a luscious green wall covered in tasty bite .
Light
Peas grow fastest and yield the most peas in full Dominicus — at least six hr day by day . They toleratepartial nuance conditions . Afternoon shade during red-hot weather can extend the harvest season .
Soil and Water
Peas mature in most dirt type as long as it drains adequately . Heavy cadaver can be problematic . They preferslightly acidic pHand loamy texture .
pea postulate regular water . Provide 1 to 2 inches of supplementary water supply every week if your garden has n’t received sufficient rain . Use your finger to test the grease an in below the airfoil . If it ’s wry , you take to water .
Temperature and Humidity
Peas are acool - season cropthat decelerate down or dies in red-hot weather . Take vantage of cool springiness and fall weather . If you desire to spring up peas in summer , choose a spot shelter from the blistering afternoon sun and provide plenty of water .
Humidity is not usually a job for peas unless in high spirits humidity is copulate with too wet territory , in which case , pea plants become vulnerable to root buncombe and powdery mildew .
Fertilizer
Compost work into the garden bedat planting meter is all pea require in most soils . Optionally , fecundate with anygeneral - aim fertilizeraccording to box instruction , usually every two to three weeks throughout the other growing time of year .
Pruning
Pruning is not required . However , when pea plants are 12 to 14 inches tall , many nurseryman cut off the top 4 to 6 inches to promote the plants to branch out and make new shoot , increase the harvest .
Potting and Repotting
pea are easygoing to grow in container . Their roots are shallow , so a 12- or 18 - inch container is deep enough , but it must provide splendid drainage . Fill the container with good quality pot dirt and position it where it receives full sun part of the day . If the pea are vining types , add a support to the container when you implant the cum . Because pea are annuals and die at the destruction of the season , repotting is not necessary .
Harvesting Peas
Snow pea are quick to glean when the excrescence ( the small pea inside ) are just begin to show . The pods will still be flat . Snap pea are quick to harvest when both the fuel pod and the peas are plump but not yet rigid . The pod should snap like a fresh green bean plant .
When harvest pea seedcase , it ’s easy to damage the industrial plant . Use two hand — one to hold the vine and the other to draw the seedcase . A one - handed Yankee can take some of the vine with it or rip part of the plant off the trellis . Alternatively , hold a basket below the cod and lop it with scissors .
Peas flower and produce for weeks as long as you keep them picked , like to the room youdeadhead flowers . When you harvest the pods , the plant attempts to regurgitate by put out more . Pick them every sidereal day or every other day to get them at the acme of feel and softheartedness .
Credit: Kindra Clineff
Pests and Problems
Powdery mildewcan be a job for peas . It looks like blanched dust on the folio in the former stages . Eventually , it penetrates the plant tissues and steals nutrients unless caught early and treated with a traditional or constituent fungicide .
Common root bunkum is another fungal disease . foliage twist yellow , and lesion become visible on the roots . Excessive ground moisture is an enabling factor , so plant peas in an area with first-class drainage .
How to Propagate Peas
Peas are easily to propagate from seed , and you’re able to save some pea seeds for next year ’s crop . Let some pea mature on the vine until they harden and dry and the pods wither and sprain brownish . Give one a waggle , and you ’ll find out the pea rattle around at heart when they ’re ready to glean . fall apart the peas from the pod and gargle them . dry out them good and hive away them . Do n’t forget to label the mixed bag .
pull through seed from hybrid pea plant varieties may result in the next generation of plants having disagree characteristics from the I you bought the previous yr . For best results , select open - cross-pollinate orheirloom varietiesif you plan to save semen .
Types of Peas
‘Green Beauty’
Pisum sativum‘Green Beauty ’ is a vining , heavy - producing Baron Snow of Leicester pea with raw pods . This giant cultivar produces pods that are huge — up to 8 inches long . The vine reach 6 to 8 feet tenacious , make this an idealistic crampon for a tall trellis .
‘Super Sugar Snap’
Pisum sativum‘Super Sugar Snap ’ has a reputation of being the sweetest sugar snap pea ever grown . This open - pollinated snap pea has 5 - foot - farseeing vines and heavy , meaty pods . It ’s resistant to powdery mildew .
‘Little Marvel’
A shelling pea , Pisum sativum‘Little Marvel ’ has short , 20 - column inch - high , shaggy-coated plants perfect for small spaces and containers . The tiny peas are tightly packed into 3 - in pod and are splendid for eating fresh or icy .
‘Dwarf Grey’
Pisum sativum‘Dwarf Grey ’ is an heirloom variety snap pea with delicious 3 - column inch pod and tasty pinnace shoots utter for salads . This is a medium - sized diversity that spring up 2 to 3 feet magniloquent , although they can develop taller under ideal stipulation .
Companion Plants for Peas
Beans
Dana Gallagher
Beans are a stark complement to peas in the garden . They like similar territory and sun conditions , but peas grow in cool weather , andbeans sleep together the warmthof summertime . They combine tosave space in the garden .
Lettuce
Lettuce maturate good in cooler conditions , like peas , and you ’ll postulate some gorgeous impertinent greens to use as the basis in salads when you toss in your pea plant . Mostlettuces wo n’t boltuntil the long day of summer overture .
Root Vegetables
KRITSADA PANICHGUL
ascendent vegetableslike radish , carrot , and parsnips wo n’t compete with trellised pea plant for sunlight , allowing you to embed more in the same space . Radishesare an excellent early spring harvest and are ready for harvest in as petty as 30 days .
Garden Plan for Peas
Raised-Bed Vegetable Garden Plan
contrive a vegetable garden and successfully harvest your own green groceries is easy with this three - time of year design for a raised seam . Peas are an first-class addition to this vegetable garden . Begin by planting pea and other frigid - weather veg several weeks before your area ’s last give frost date .
Frequently Asked Questions
dead . Many are bushy and , like bush dome , only get 15 to 20 inches tall . If you do n’t want to go vertical , check the vine distance or plant peak before buying come .
flash-frozen pea you buy from the store will not spud . While seeds can normally be frozen – and often are in nature – the unconscious process of freezing pea plant involve blanching , which vote down the living part of the pea plant ejaculate . to boot , frozen pea are harvested before the seed ( the pea ) matures .
Most pea plant motley will yield delightful pods at about 55 to 60 days . It may take longer if you ’ve had arctic atmospheric condition , planted them in less than full Sunday , or they have n’t received enough water .
Credit:KRITSADA PANICHGUL
Trněný , Oldřich , et al . " Molecular Evidence for Two Domestication Events in the Pea Crop . ”Genes , vol . 9 , no . 11 , 2018.https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9110535
“ What are the wellness benefits of peas ? ” Medical News Today .
Do I require to treat my peas with an inoculum before planting?”Iowa State University Extension and Outreach .
“ Growing Peas . ” West Virginia University Extension .
