Pea Growing and Harvest Information
| Temperature | |
| Germination | 40-70 F |
| For Growth | 60-65 F |
| Soil and Water | |
| Fertilizer - Light feeder. When inoculated, peas are N-fixing and need low N. Apply liquid seaweed 2-3 times per season. | |
| Side-dressing - With vines about 6" tall, apply compost or an amendment high in P and K and low N | |
| pH | 6.0-7.5 |
| Water | heavy after blooms form |
| Measurements | |
| Planting depth | 1" |
| Root depth | up to 3' |
| Height | 20" - 6' |
| Width | 6-10" |
| Space between plants | |
| In beds | 2-4" |
| In rows | 1-3" |
| Space between rows | 18-48" |
| Average plants per person | 25-60 |
| Harvest | |
| If a plant has only a few peas on it, pinch back the growing tip to encourage further fruiting. When pea pods are plump, crisp, and before they begin to harden or fade in color, harvest them with one clean cut. Sugar snaps are best picked when plump and filled out. Harvest snow peas when they are young and underdeveloped. Pick peas every day for continuous production. Pea shoots, the last 4-6" of the vine, can also be harvested for stir fry dishes and salads. | |
| First Seed Starting Date: 35-56 Days before last frost date | |
| Last Seed Starting Date: 70-100 Days before first frost date | |
| Companions | |
| Companions: All beans, coriander, corn, cucumber, radish, spinach | |
| Incompatibles: Garlic, onion, potato | |
Where
to grow Peas
Peas are a cool season vegetable, and do best in a climate where there are two months of cool growing weather, either spring planting in the northern regions or fall planting in the warmer southern regions. They are hardy to frost and light freezes.
Reccomended Varieties of Peas
Pease have smooth or wrinkled seeds. Most of the varieties
grown are wrinkled seed, since these are sweeter and more flavorful.
The advantage of smooth seed is its toughness in withstanding rot in
cold, wet soil, although many wrinkled seed varieties are now
treated with a mild fungicide to prevent rotting. Plan
on an average of 25-60 plants per person depending on how much you
want to freeze, dry, or can for winter. Pole and climbing peas
produce over a longer period and up to 5 times more than dwarf bush
varieties.
Smooth seed - Alaska (55 days)
Early - Sparkle (60 days, dwarf), Frosty (64 Days); Little
Marvel (64 days, dwarf)
Mid season - Lincoln (67 days); Wando (69 days), heat
resistant)
Late - Green Arrow (68 days, long pods); Alderman (74 days,
long pods)
Edible pod - Little sweetie (60 days, bush); Sweetpod (68
days, tall growing) Mammoth Melting Sugar (tall growing)
Field peas or cowpeas - California Blackeye (65 days);
Brown Sugar Crowder (90 days)
Soil for Growing Peas
Warm soil is essential, especially for limas. pH range should be between 6 and 7, just slightly acidic. Bush beans will thrive in fertile loam soil without addition of fertilizer. Too much fertilizer will promote extensive foliage growth and little crop. Limas and pole beans are heavy feeders. Legume inoculates are available from seed suppliers for seed treatment, especially if beans or peas have not been grown in the soil before. Add organic matter to the beds in fall, in spring when the soil is thawing, gently rake the soil surface.
Planting Peas
Germination in 8-10 days
When - The earlier the better. Seeds should be
planted in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Do
not plant in the hot summer months. Where winters are mild, a
second fall crop could be planted in late summer, but where the
summers are long and hot, this is not practical as the plants do not
thrive, producing poor flowers and a disappointing crop. The
simplest way to prolong harvest is to plant early, midseason, and
late varieties at one time rather than sowing every 2 weeks.
Gardeners with mild winters can plant peas in both spring and fall.
How - Plant dwarf varieties about 8 seeds to a foot,
about 1/2 - 1" deep; and in rows 18-24" apart. Tall-growing
varieties should be planted in double rows 4-6 inches apart, 2 1/2
feet between double rows. Supports for climbing cines can be
put in at planting time, or just as seedlings are 3 inches high.
Peas can cross-pollinate, so for seed-saving, space different
varieties at least 150' apart. Dwarf varieties don't need a
trellis if you plant them close together. For support use
twiggy bush, chicken wire fencing, or weatherized trellis netting
sold commercially for vine crops.
Peas have fragile roots and don't transplant well. While some
gardeners recommend presoaking seeds, research has indicated that
presoaked legume seeds absorb water too quickly, split their outer
coatings, and spill out essential nutrients, which encourages
damping-off seed rot. Yields can increase 50-100% by
inoculating with Rhizobium bacteria.
How Peas grow
Peas grow on pretty vines to 3 and 4 feet tall; their pinnate leaves are topped by a curly tendril, which grasps onto a support. The flowers are miniature sweet pea flowers, and pods begin to develop soon after the flowers drop. The dwarf peas do not grow taller than 2 feet, and do not need to be staked for support.
Cultivating Peas
Keep the rows weed free or mulch. After sowing, a thin line of fertilizer can be traced along either side of the row and worked in 3-4 inches from the plants. Too much nitrogen encourages foliage growth and not pods. Peas need constant soil moisture to keep developing well, and the ground should be watered when there is lack of rainfall.
| Storage Requirements | ||
| Blanch shelled regular peas and whole snap peas and snow peas before freezing | ||
| Fresh | ||
| Temperature | Humidity | Storage Life |
| 32 F | 95-98% | 1-2 weeks |
| Preserved | ||
| Method | Taste | Shelf Life |
| Canned | good | 12+ months |
| Frozen | excellent | 12+ months |
| Dried | good | 12+ months |
Harvesting Peas
60-70 days. When pods of the peas appear to be swelling with
rounded pea forms visible, they are ready for picking. Take a
test picking every day or so, and note the appearance of the pods
with the sweetest peas. If the pods are left on the vines too
long, they become tough and starchy. Pick the pods just before
cooking, since they, like corn, deteriorate quickly after harvest.
Choose a cool morning, not the heat of the day, or just after a
cooling rain. The edible pod peas should be picked when the
pods are well developed, but before they become swollen with the
outline of peas.
Peas usually develop from the bottom of the vine up. Pull
firmly but gently, and hold the vine with one hand so it is not
jarred loose from its support when picking. When peas start to
ripen, pick them often, and pull all ripe pods present each time to
encourage development of more pods; otherwise the crop stops
developing. You can pick peas for about 2 weeks once they
start coming. After the harvest, turn under the plant residues
to improve the soil.
Pests for Peas
Pea aphids - rotenone or pyrethrum
Diseases of Peas
Damping off - Buy treated seed
Downy mildew - Grow resistant varieties (green arrow)
Fusarium wilt - Grow resistant varieties
