Guides for Growing Peas in Your Garden

Growing Peas in your Backyard – Fresh peas from the garden are far sweeter than anything you can buy in a store or on the shelf. Peas are a simple plant to cultivate in your yard, and since they often grow vertically, they provide a large harvest from a small amount of space. These five guidelines will teach you how to successfully cultivate peas.

Growing Peas in the Garden: 5 Proven Techniques

1. Select the pea varieties that will be planted.

Peas are often separated into three groups, and you may pick the ones you wish to grow based on their classification.

The shelling pea, also known as sweet pea (not to be confused with the floral sweet pea), is a kind of legume that is also known as English peas or garden peas. The edible pod contains full-sized edible peas, which must be shelled before consumption.

Try the following varieties: Wando, Iona Shelling Petite Pea Seeds, and King Tut Purple Pea.

Snow pea: a large, flat, stringless edible pod containing little peas that may be eaten. Stir-frying is a common use for this ingredient.

Try these varieties: Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Peas, Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas (* = strongly recommended), and Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Peas (* = highly recommended).

Sugar Snap Pea — An edible pod containing full-sized edible peas, also known as Sugar Snap Pea. Pick the pods at any stage and consume the whole pod with the peas still inside.

Sugar Magnolia Snap Purple Peas, Sugar Snap Peas, and Cascade Snap Peas (* = highly recommended) are some of the varieties to try. Choose disease-resistant varieties if at all feasible after you’ve decided on which variety to plant.

2. Plant peas in the correct location and at the correct time.

Consider inoculating pea seeds with mycorrhizal fungi before planting them in the ground. Inoculating the seeds provides the plants a boost, increases yields, and aids the roots in their efforts to “fix” nitrogen in the soil, among other benefits.

Plant peas at the appropriate time of year. Temperatures below 70 °F are ideal for pea growth.If you live in the low desert of Arizona, you should start planting peas in September and keep growing peas until February.

In other places, put seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before your final spring frost date to ensure a successful spring planting. Growers should note that peas sown in cooler soil (between 40°F and 55°F) will develop more slowly than those planted in soil that has reached at least 60°F.

Use a soil thermometer to determine the temperature of the soil. You should check with your local planting guide to see if you can plant peas in the fall in your area.

Peas grow best when planted directly in the soil outside. They have a delicate root structure, so it’s preferable to direct seed them rather than transplant them.

Peas should be planted in a different location each year in order to prevent pests and illnesses, and they should not be planted in the same spot more than once every 3–4 years.

Peas grow best in loose soil that is not too rich in nitrogen, according to the USDA. Plant pea seeds 1 inch deep and roughly 2 inches apart on a flat, well-drained area. Plant eight peas per square foot of gardening grid in square-foot gardening grids.

3.Take good care of peas as they grow.

Watering is essential for producing tasty peas. Pea plants do not like to be wet, but it is equally crucial not to allow them to get completely dry. Ensure that plants get enough water on a regular basis, particularly while they are blooming and producing pods.

Pea plants do not need, nor do they want, any additional fertilizer beyond what is provided naturally. A surplus of nitrogen results in lush green plants but a dearth of peas. When growing peas, phosphorus is essential; if your soil lacks phosphorus, try adding bone meal.

Pea roots are delicate and should not be handled carelessly. It is not permissible to dig around plants. Mulch pea plants when they are around 2 inches tall to keep weeds under control and save moisture.

 

Provide assistance for the development of pea plants. All peas, especially bush kinds, need to be supported by a trellis.

Peas grown on a trellis are more productive and less susceptible to root rot and other illnesses than those grown in the ground.

Pea tendrils extend out and love to climb up the stalks of the plant. Shorter variants may climb with the help of a stake planted in the ground near the plant. Climbing peas should be supported by a tall trellis. Direct the tendrils toward the trellis, and the peas will rapidly attach themselves to it once they are in place.

 

4. Keep an eye out for diseases that typically damage peas, such as blight and scab.

Powdery mildew is a kind of mildew that appears as powder on the leaves and vines. Powdery mildew is very contagious. Tips for prevention and treatment are provided in this article.

Pick peas early in the day while temperatures are still cold to help reduce the spread of disease and pests. To prevent further infection, destroy diseased plants and debris.Select varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases. It is not necessary to store seed for replanting.

Infected vines get dried up, yellow, and eventually brown and die as a result of Fusarium wilt and other wilt diseases.

Sow resistant types and change the locations where you plant peas on a regular basis (3–4 year rotation). To prevent further infection, destroy diseased plants and debris. Select varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases.

 

5. Harvest peas as early and as frequently as possible.

Peas should be harvested on a regular basis to maximize output. Overripe peas should not be left on the plant; if peas are not plucked, the plant’s ability to produce new peas is reduced.

If you want to keep the seeds at the end of the season, leave the pods on the plant until they are completely dry.

Sweet peas should be harvested when the pods are spherical, brilliant green, and glossy. When pods grow dull, they become fibrous and less sweet, and they lose their sweetness.

Snow peas should be harvested when the peas inside the pods are almost flat. Peas from sugar snap peas are gathered at their peak when they are fully grown yet still little inside the edible pods of peas.

Harvest peas using two hands; use one hand to keep the vine stable while the other hand pulls the pea off the vine and into a bowl.

When pea production is over, cut the plant down to the ground and put the stems and leaves in the compost pile (if the plant is disease and pest free). Nitrogen will be released into the soil as the roots break down.

Peas are sweetest right after they are harvested because the sugar in the peas turns into starch in just a few hours.

Peas may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days if they are packed in a paper bag inside a ziplock bag. It is possible to freeze or dry peas for later use, but the texture of the peas will be altered.