How to Grow Snap Peas

Garden peas are one of the earliest vegetables that grow in the garden. This vining vegetable is one of the easiest as well. Grow snap peas in your garden this year with success.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 wooden stakes 5 feet long
• Hammer or mallet
• Heavy garden twine
• Snap pea seeds
• Bean and pea inoculate
• Row cover

1. Plan the snap pea garden. Snap peas tolerate some shade but prefer full sun for at least six to eight hours. Grow peas during the spring and fall seasons, as they are cooler weather crops.

2. Build a pea trellis to handle the snap peas vining habit. Buy two wooden stakes and place one on either end of the area you plan to grow the snap peas. Use a hammer or mallet to pound the wooden stakes into the ground. Tie heavy twine between the two wooden stakes across the top and bottom. Then weave the twine in and out of the top and bottom lines to create a pattern. This pattern doesn't have to be even as snap peas prefer something rugged.

3. Work the pea garden soil in early spring. Peas need a large amount of nitrogen for growth. Add a bean and pea inoculate at least a week before you plant the peas.

4. Purchase snap pea seeds. Since peas are common garden vegetables, they should be easy to find in most home and garden stores and local greenhouses. Check out some Internet garden retail stores for different varieties of snap peas.

5. Sow the snap pea seeds about three inches apart. Push them down at least a half inch to prevent birds and other wildlife from digging them up.

6. Use row covers to protect snap peas from late freezes. Hard freezes may kill snap peas if the peas are unprotected. Cover the pea bed with a lightweight blanket at night if you can't buy a row cover.

7. Train snap pea seedlings to climb the trellis once the peas have started to send out tendrils. Gently take these tendrils and wrap them around the twine. It may take a day or two for the snap pea tendrils to take hold of the twine. Repeat every other day until the pea plant has started to climb the trellis on its own.

Tips & Warnings

• Spread out the snap pea planting. Plant half in early spring and plant the other half in late spring. The snap peas will mature at different times extending the pea growing season.

• Buy the inoculate anywhere you buy the pea seeds. The inoculate helps bacteria in the soil create nitrogen the peas use for growth.

• Direct watering on snap pea blossoms will stop the pea blossoms from fruiting to pea pods. Water pea plants at the base especially when they start to bloom.

• If you use a row cover, be sure to take it off during the day. The sun's warmth may cause too much heat under the cover and may kill the snap pea plants.

Resources

• The University of Illinois extension site has information on growing peas.