How to Care for Pea Plants

Peas are a popular plant in vegetable gardens, partly because home gardeners can choose from many types, including regular shelling peas and varieties such as sugar and snap that have edible pods. Peas produce a large harvest in as little as three weeks after flowering, and continue to produce new harvests through September. Caring for pea plants and getting the peas on your family's table takes a little planning.

Things You'll Need

• Pea plants
• Peat moss or bonemeal (optional)
• Mulch
• Stick, trellis or pea netting
• Plant ties

Instructions

1. Put your pea plants where they will receive plenty of sun in well-worked soil that is rich in organic matter. Avoid adding nitrogen fertilizers to the soil. Peat moss or bonemeal can be added if the soil quality is poor.

2. Water peas regularly, making sure that the soil stays moist and never dries out. Mulching with organic material such as straw will keep the moisture in the soil and also prevent weeds from growing.

3. Keep the vines off the ground by placing a stick behind each plant, winding the pea vines around it and securing them with plant ties. You can also purchase a trellis or pea netting from a garden store and erect it behind the row of vines.

4. Pinch off the tops of the pea plants after the vines grow to the top of the support or trellis. That will encourage the plants to produce peas farther down the vines.

5. Harvest the peas when they are slightly immature, approximately three weeks after flowering. Begin at the bottom of the vines, and work up. Frequent harvests will keep the plant producing.

Tips & Warnings

• Sow seeds indoors if mice or birds are an issue in your garden. Peas can be planted as early as February under a garden cloche.

• Aphids can ruin a pea crop. Plant morning glories near the pea plants to drive them away, or spray diluted dish-washing liquid nearby.

References

• Garden Action: How to Grow Peas