Growing Peas

I have come a long way. 

The first year I had a garden, the only thing I wanted to grow were peas. I bought seeds that said "sweet peas". Those sound good! You can imagine my disappointment when a month later I had pretty flowers, and no green peas.

Peas are so easy to grow and are great for in-garden-munching.

How to grow:

• Peas are an early season crop and prefer cooler temperatures, they can tolerate down to 40 degrees F.  Bean varieties are more of a warm weather crop. 
• Plant peas 1-2 inches a part. They can handle crowding. 
• Give your peas something to climb on such as a trellis or string, lined between two stakes. 
• Peas can withstand partial shade however, the more sun you can provide them, the sweeter they will be.

How to maintain:

• Harvest your peas often to encourage growth of new peas.
• If pods are not developing or your plant has a yellowish tint, you may need to add a side-dressing of fertilizer. See this post for info on fertilizing.
• Aphids love peas, see this post for removing aphids. 

How to harvest:

• You can harvest peas at any time. The smaller they are, the sweeter they will be. 
• When the pod lightens in color, the pod is over ripe and the peas become bitter. 

Ever wondered what kind of peas you should grow?

• Do you like eating the whole pod? Look for snap peas. 
• Do you like to just eat the seeds/peas? Try English or garden peas.
• Do you want to stir-fry your peas? Grow snow peas. 

If you didn't get your peas started this year, it's not too late to plan for a fall crop. Once temperatures are below 75 degrees in the late summer, you can directly sow your pea seeds!