How to Grow Peas From Seed

Peas love cool weather and sulk in the heat, so they are one of the very first things you sow each year. Direct-sow seeds outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, usually 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost, once the soil has reached about 45F. In regions with mild winters you can sow a second crop in late summer, about 8 to 10 weeks before your first fall frost, for a fall harvest. Peas do not transplant well, so always sow them straight into the garden.

Peas are easy to start and do not need rich soil, since they make much of their own nitrogen. Sow the seeds about 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart, in single or double rows, and set up a trellis or netting at the same time so you do not disturb the roots later. Water the row in well and seedlings appear in 7 to 14 days in cool soil. Vining types will grab the support with their tendrils and climb on their own, so there is no need to tie them.

Peas are low-maintenance once they are up. Give them a steady inch of water a week, especially once they start flowering and filling pods, and mulch to keep the roots cool as the season warms. They rarely need feeding, though a light dose of compost helps in poor soil. In hot regions like the South, grow peas as a fall and winter crop and choose heat-tolerant types, since spring warms up too fast; in cooler areas like the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast, an early spring sowing gives a long, productive season before summer heat arrives.

Peas grow well beside plants that draw pollinators, lure pests away from their tender shoots, or share the same cool-season bed. These three make good neighbors for a pea patch, and you can add any of them in one click:

Pick peas often and at the right stage for the type. Shelling peas are ready when the pods are plump and rounded but still bright green; snap peas when the pods are full and crisp; and snow peas while the pods are flat and the peas inside are just forming. Pick every day or two at the peak, because the more you pick the more the plant produces, and pods left too long turn tough and starchy. Peas are sweetest eaten or chilled soon after picking.

Fresh garden peas are hard to beat straight from the pod, still sweet and tender. Shell them for soups, risottos, pasta, and buttered spring vegetables, or eat snap and snow peas whole in salads and stir-fries. Peas freeze beautifully after a quick blanch, so a good harvest keeps their fresh, sweet flavor well into winter. Even the young shoots and tendrils are edible and make a delicate salad green.

• Poor germination or rotting seed: soil too cold and wet. Wait until the soil is above 45F and drains freely, or pre-sprout seeds indoors.
• Yellowing vines that quit early: usually summer heat. Peas are a cool-season crop, so sow early and expect them to wind down as it warms.
• Powdery mildew, a white coating on the leaves: common in humid weather. Space rows for airflow, water at the base, and grow resistant varieties.
• Chewed shoots and curled leaves: aphids or pea weevil. Blast aphids off with water and plant nasturtium nearby to draw them away.