Grow Peas
If you’d like to grow peas in your garden this spring, check out my gutter peas method for ease in planting. No matter how you start them, you’ll love their delightfully sweet flavor.
Latin Name: Pisum sativum
Plant Family: Legume
Cool-season crop
Did You Know?
There are three types of peas: shelling, edible pod, and snap. You might be surprised to learn the foliage on all types tastes exactly like fresh peas. For years, I’ve started peas indoors because birds think those freshly-sprouted seeds are delicious. Then I would plant them, one by one, in rows which was rather tedious. Well, no more! After seeing a fun video on growing “gutter peas” a few years ago, I tried this unusual method from the United Kingdom and I am hooked. This involves thickly planting peas indoors into rain gutters cut to the length of a raised bed. On transplanting day, I make two furrows the size of the gutters down the length of the bed. Then I just push the contents of a gutter right into each furrow. It is so quick and easy, and we end up with a fabulous stand of pea plants that produces like nobody’s business. Try it! If this sounds crazy, you can find the more conventional pea-planting method below.
Plant Seeds or Seedlings? Sow directly in the garden or start seeds indoors 2 weeks before transplanting them into the garden.
When: In early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked.
Days to Germination: 7 to 10 days
Depth to Sow: 1 inch
Spacing: Plant seeds or seedlings 2 to 3 inches apart.
Days to Maturity: 55 to 80
Cultural Information:
Peas typically require some type of climbing support such as a trellis, netting or wire; pruned branches also make excellent supports. You might see “bush peas” listed in catalogs as not requiring support but I find the plants grow taller than what is listed on the seed packet and will often fall over together in a heap; that can be a nightmare to harvest. So provide all peas with something to climb on. Once plants are about 6 inches tall, feed with a nitrogen fertilizer such as fish fertilizer. Keep soil moist throughout the season.
Susan’s Picks: ‘Cascadia’, ‘Golden Sweet’, ‘Green Arrow’, ‘Lincoln’, ‘Oregon Giant’, ‘Sabre’, ‘Sugar Daddy’
When to Harvest:
Pick edible pod peas while they’re young and tender. Pick shelling peas when the pods are full and rounded. The easiest way to tell if any type is ready is to pick one and see what you think!
How to Cook & Preserve:
Gently steam shelled peas to eat as-is, or for pea salads. Remember how I mentioned the pea leaves taste like peas? I enjoy adding some leaves to salads. Edible pod and snap peas are delicious fresh as appetizers, or cooked in stir-fries. To freeze, place in boiling water for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes, plunge into ice-cold water, dry and place in freezer bags.
Back to Vegetable Grow Guide Chart
Copyright: Susan Mulvihill, Susan’s in the Garden, SusansintheGarden.com.