Peas
Vegetable · cool season · also called english pea, garden pea, shelling pea
When to plant
- Sow seeds outdoors about 6 weeks before your average last spring frost.
- It can also be grown as a fall crop, timed back from your first fall frost.
- Ready to harvest about 60 days after planting.
Plant as soon as soil can be worked.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Spacing
- 2 in (trellised)
- Soil temperature
- At least 40°F
- Time to harvest
- About 60 days
- Containers
- At least 2 gallons
- Plant family
- Bean and pea family (legumes)
- Harvest per plant
- About 0.1 lb
- Seeds keep
- About 3 years
Companions
Good neighbors: Carrot, Radish, Lettuce, Spinach
Keep apart: the onion family (alliums). Onions and garlic can stunt beans and peas.
Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunflower. Sunflowers release compounds that can slow beans.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Varieties to try
- Little Marvel 62 days: compact, no support needed
- Green Arrow 68 days: long pods, productive
- Wando 70 days: heat-tolerant
Pests and problems
Grow it well
Tips
- Grow up, not out. In a small space, give cucumbers, pole beans, and peas something to climb. They grow more in the same patch of ground, and the fruit is easier to find.
- Soak big, hard seeds overnight. Peas, beets, chard, and okra sprout faster after 8 to 12 hours in water. Plant them right away, and don't soak them longer than a day, or they can rot.
- Put supports in at planting time. Set cages, stakes, and trellises when you plant, not when the plant starts to flop. Pushing them in later breaks roots and stems.
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