How To Grow Peas In A Garden

L.M.Reid is a gardener with lots of experience. This writer has published many gardening articles so you can learn how to grow many plants.

How to grow peas from seeds in the garden on a homemade trellis

L.M.Reid

How to Plant and Grow Peas on a Trellis

I show you how to grow your own peas from seeds with the correct way to plant them for a higher harvest yield. Growing peas this way maximises your space so you can have lots of vegetables even in a small garden.

There are step-by-step instructions with my own photos for making the trellis that will keep the green pea plants upright. The seeds are very large so this makes them ideal for children to grow too.

When to Plant Your Pea Seeds

The best time is early spring. Here in Ireland that is March to April. If the weather is still very cold in the spring, then two weeks before you intend to sow the peas, cover the soil with a polythene sheet or straw. This will heat up the soil.

These are the pea seeds I use every year because they give me a great crop as you can see from my photos.

How to Plant for the Best Yield

Find a place in your garden where you will have easy access to both sides of your pea trellis. This will make it easier for you when you need to tie the tendrils and for picking the pea pods.
Create a raised bed where you intend to sow the seeds. The reason for doing this is that the soil in the raised bed gets warmer more quickly. This will speed up germination.
Using a small spade or hoe make a deep hollow on the middle of the dirt.
This will create two trenches one on either side.
You can now place the support frame into the middle of the dirt.
I used two large bamboo sticks and wrapped and secured some chicken wire around each pole.
The chicken wire is perfect for growing peas on.

How to transplant garden peas seedlings

L.M.Reid

Taking Care of the Peas

Pour in some water to the soil on the two mounds of compost.
Then sow your seeds.
Put them into the soil at about one inch deep which is approximately two and a half centimetres. Place the seeds at least two inches apart which is approximately five centimetres.
Pea seeds are large and easy to see so this planting process is made very easy.
Cover your pea seeds with a tiny amount of soil and flatten it down firmly.
If you are still experiencing very cold weather with snow and frost then you should protect the seeds by adding some straw or other mulch on top of the soil to keep it warm.
I would advice you to go ahead and plant in early spring even if the weather is still not very warm.
If you leave it too late then you will have your peas growing at full bloom during the very hot summer. Peas do not like consistently hot sun and their growth will be stunted.

Supporting and Growing the Plants

It all depends on the weather as to how often you water the seeds and tender shoots.
Give them a good sprinkle of water once a week as they continue to grow taller.
Check on them every day and if you notice the soil is drying out give them another watering.
Be careful though because over watering the plants will also kill them..
As they start to grow larger and summer comes along water every few days or as needed.
If the soil gets too dry this will stop the peas from flowering and producing pods.
You can avoid this happening by adding some mulch around the surface once they reach a height of about five inches.
Once they reach this height it is time to begin the job of attaching them to your support.
You will see tiny tendrils on each plant. Gently curl these around your support.
The chicken wire is great for this as there are so many holes in the wire.
Check your plants every day from now on and see if they need to be supported.

Flowers growing on peas plants

L.M.Reid

When to Harvest

It takes about twelve to fifteen weeks for your pea plants to grow to maturity.
It all depends on your soil, the weather conditions and how well they were looked after.
Your plants should grow to a good height of about four to five feet.
First you will see lovely white flowers appearing.
These will eventually die and produce the pea pods.
The pods will grow from each flower and then each pod will fill up with peas.
At first the peas will be very small and thin. They will soon grow round and large within the pod

When to Pick the Pea Pods

Your pea pods will always be ready at the bottom of the plant first.
So check these pods every day to see how the peas are growing.
When you can see the peas are round, big and full to bursting in the pod you know they should be picked.

How to Remove the Pods From the Plants

Harvest from the bottom of the plants first.
Have a secateurs or a sharp scissors ready.
Take a pod in one hand and pull towards you.
This will leave the end of it exposed enough to make a clean cut.
Place in a container and continue with the others.
Never pull the pods off with your hands as this will damage the rest of the plant.
The shock will prevent the plants from producing any more growth to the remaining pods.
When you remove the fully grown pods from the plant there is more room for other pods to develop and produce even more peas.

Learn how to grow peas vertically on a trellis in a small garden.

L.M.Reid

Planting the Seeds When the Weather is Too Cold

Last year the spring weather was still very cold and frosty here in Ireland. I decided to plant some pea seeds in compost in a tray and under shelter. But I also planted some straight into the ground and covered these with mulch. I transplanted the growing seedlings from my cold frame once they reached about five inches in height.

The plants in the ground were smaller at first but both methods were successful as the smaller plants soon caught up once the weather got warmer.

How to Plant in Pots and Containers

I filled a small tray with compost and then placed half a cardboard toilet roll in it. I placed one seed in each. I watered as normal because the cardboard allowed the water to penetrate to the seed.

When it was time to transplant the seedlings into the ground I was able to plant each one without damaging the roots. I cut the cardboard away from the small plant and placed in the soil outside.

How to Grow Other Vegetables and Fruit

Check out my other guides on how to grow:

spring onions and scallions
onions
lettuce in containers
sweet bell peppers
strawberries
carrots in pots
potatoes in bags
rhubarb
tomatoes
cabbage
cucumbers in pots
Swede turnips
runner beans
goji berry trees

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Questions & Answers

Question: Do your containers for your garden have drain holes? They look like regular pails.

Answer: Yes I made them myself. I used a garden knife to create holes in the bottom of the containers

Question: Can I pinch back young pea plants?

Answer: Yes, you can but there is no need really. The pea pods will grow big enough without you having to thin the leaves

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on March 06, 2014:

That is a shame your peas did not grow well last year kerlund74, I hope you have a better crop this year.

Growing peas is quite easy bluebird and great to pick and eat. Why not give it a try this year.

Thank you AVailuu for your kind comment. It helps a lot when you are writing about something that you really care about and know how to do.

The temperatures here in Ireland are still very cold too Kalmiya . I have my seed potatoes ready to plant but like yourself I think the peas, beans and potatoes will have to wait for a few more weeks.

If you love to eat peas do have a go at growing some this year because the taste is superior and they are fun to grow.

Kalmiya from North America on March 05, 2014:

I love green peas and with your very detailed instructions may attempt to grow some this year. It's first week of March here in S. Ontario Canada so still minus temperatures so may start some indoors later in the month. Voted up!

Ashley Vailu'u from Central Texas on March 04, 2014:

Quality internet content! I only hope to put out articles this in depth one day. Your documentation is wholesome and authentic. Great work.

bluebird on March 04, 2014:

Great hub! Enjoyed the pictures too. Peas really are fun to pick and eat raw, they are sweet and tasty. And from this hub, it looks like they would be fun to grow as well! Thanks for sharing! and inspiring us to grow a garden!

kerlund74 from Sweden on February 28, 2014:

An amazing guide with all information needed. My children love these peas. I plant them every year. Bu tlast year we have moved and they was placed in shadow. That was not a success...

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on February 28, 2014:

Hello DeborahNeyens Yes peas taste lovely raw, I also put them in a salad picking them when I am ready to serve it.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on February 28, 2014:

WriterFox thank you for your kind comments. I take the photos especially for my hubs and my gardening blog but it is great to look back at how the vegetable was started and how it grew.

The weather has been very bad here since Christmas so looking at the photos I took last year lifts my spirits too.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on February 28, 2014:

Hello ReseachBeast Peas are a great vegetable to grow. Yes I can not wait for the weather to get better and I too can get out in the garden and start to grow things again

Deborah Neyens from Iowa on February 27, 2014:

Peas are one of my very favorite things to grow. I love picking them and eating them right off the vine.

Writer Fox from the wadi near the little river on February 27, 2014:

Your photos add so much to this article. They are absolutely inspiring! Enjoyed your garden and voted up.

Online Research Beast on February 27, 2014:

This is a very complete how to hubpage. Nicely done. I have bookmarked it for when we get our garden going, which should be fairly soon.