Peas are not only great tasting, but the plant is a feature of the garden. Follow our 7 steps to grow your own peas at home.
A firm favorite to meals across the world, these delicious green peas are a staple diet for most. What’s a better way to add greens to your plate than a tasty side of peas? Packed with nutrients and health benefits, they are a must for anyone growing food in their yard.
There are three kinds of peas. English or garden peas, sugar snap peas, and Chinese or snow peas. For garden peas, the seeds are edible. For snow peas, pods and seeds are edible. Sugar snap peas are the slim form and all of it is edible.
We will guide you through the steps to grow your own peas with our easy-to-follow steps. Use this guide to begin growing your own lovely peas.
Details for Growing Peas
|Planting Months||5 weeks before the last frost|
|Harvest Months||2 + months from planting|
|Temperature to Plant||55-70 F|
|Planting Depth||1 inch|
|Spacing||Seeds 2 inches – Rows 3 feet|
|Direction||North to south|
|Drainage||Well-drained avoiding rotting|
|Companion Plants||Radishes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and tomatoes.|
|Health Benefits||Vitamin A, K, C, Thiamine, Folate, Manganese, Iron, Phosphorus.|
Seven Steps to Growing Peas
Peas grow well in the soil which is rich in organic matter will full sun and well-drained. For heavy soil, it’s advisable to raise the bed. The soil temperature should be around 75 degrees Fahrenheit with an outdoor temperature of 55-70 F.
- Soil drainage – well-drained. Avoid wet soil with a lot of nitrogen composition as peas capture nitrogen from the air.
- Soil Temperature – 75 degrees Fahrenheit, outdoor temperature 55-70 F
- Soil pH – between 6.0-6.8 (acidic to the neutral range)
Soil pH Testing
You need to make sure that you accurately test your soil to give your plants the best chance. This Apera kit has ±0.1 pH accuracy, see the star ratings over at Amazon.
The seeds should be dry enough before planting. Peas being an annual crop, it’s generally grown from seeds. It can either be planted in mid-autumn to mid-winter or early to mid-spring.
Sowing the Seeds
Seeds are sown directly into an open ground at a depth of 1 inch – this can also be done in large containers. You can, in another way, germinate the seed by soaking it in Luke-water that is warm.
The best way to germinate your seeds so that they have a great start is with a germination kit. Seeds that are grown this way produce greater results. Check the specs of the MXIC over at Amazon.
After planting the seeds, water the soil to begin the germination, then keep watering them when dry until they emerge within 7-14 days. Add wood ashes for phosphate and potassium for the best result when the ground is lacking.
Sowing time should be any from April when the soil is warm enough. Depending on the varieties, some are planted earlier in the year while other varieties are later in the year. They require sunny nutrients rich and full of moisture. You should prepare your bed thoroughly prior to sowing. Make sure the soil type should be rich in manure.
Peas Add Nitrogen
Peas are one of the best companion plants due to their high nitrogen soil fixing properties. This helps to make nitrogen available to other plants intercropped with them.
Sow your peas directly into the garden for the soil to work on. Sowing should be done five weeks prior to frost expectation. Planting seeds that will germinate by themselves is better than planting started plants.
Once the peas have started to develop stems and leaves, they will be looking for something to grow upon. Prepare this in advance for the peas to shoot up their growth. You can create a frame structure with bamboo canes or grow up a trellis – upwards of 8 feet will be ideal
Be sure to cover your peas with netting to stop any insects from attacking. Nets with half an inch squares will be enough to give protection and allow the sunlight in.
Peas contain moisture from 80-90 % and watering will depend on the temperature in your area. Use the following measurements as a guide, but be sure to water regularly to not allow the plant to dry out.
Water regularly, either early in the morning or late in the evening – only water the base and try not to wet the leaves. Over a week it is advised to water an inch.
Check on the health of the leaves and stems to ensure strength, growth, and vibrant green. Increase the watering if the plant is looking tired. The leaves will turn yellow in color when it is time to harvest, but this is normal.
You should make sure that you give support to your peas during the growing period. Use trellis, bamboo canes, or netting for creating support. The stick should be placed just near the plant as this gives tendrils a chance for reaching out in order to grip on for support.
Feed liquid seaweed or compost tea twice a week during the growing season for heavy yields Support installation should be done in order to give support for the growing peas. It can also be applied to dwarf type too.
You should guide your peas upward after planting up to the stage whereby they are long enough to climb up the support by themselves.
Prevention of Disease
Peas plants are vulnerable to infections. Disease and pest attacks like fusarium wilt, powdery mildew, and root rot. The best prevention method is by purchasing disease-resistant varieties. You can also prevent the attack by planting earlier so that they can grow in cold weather.
The peas start ripening three weeks after the first flowers appear and have properly matured. The harvesting time period varies with peas varieties. Coating the peas with inoculants gives them nitrogen.
Chinese peas are harvested after attaining maximum pod size. The pods are then consumed together with the seeds. For English variety, only seeds are edible. You can pick up snap seeds after the seeds mature together with the pods.
During the harvesting time, pick pods by starting from the bottom upwards. If you wish to harvest fresh pods, then regular harvesting should be done.
Picking your Peas
Do picking in a careful way to encourage the development of more pods. Practice picking peas in the morning immediately after the dew has dried. Always be encouraged to use both two hands in picking exercises. One hand should be used to secure the vine while the other for pulling the pod off the vine.
After harvesting the plant, avoid uprooting it. Instead, just cut the growth off at the root to enable nitrogen-fixing. This will be of great benefit for any plant that will be grown just after peas, due to being rich in nitrogen.
One of the issues people have is that their crops produce all at once. The best way to overcome this is with a dehydrator so you can store your food for years and the flavor is amazing. The best one on the market is the Excalibur with a 10 year guarantee, see it at Amazon.
You can keep your peas in the refrigerator for a week or more. Pack in paper bags and then wrap in plastic. If you would like to freeze your peas for use for up to a year, blanch the peas for 30 seconds in boiling water.
Transfer the peas to ice-cold water and drain. Ensure any excess moisture has been removed before freezing, then place the peas in a sealable bag and freeze.
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