Two Wests & Elliott's Gardening Guide To Growing Peas
When growing peas it offers you the chance to be able to appreciate the sublime taste of a fresh pea straight from the pod . . .
‘Every good cook . . . agrees on three things about these delicate messengers . . . they must be very green, they must be freshly gathered, and they must be shelled at the very last second of the very last minute.’
Courtesy of M F K Fisher, An Alphabet For Gourmets, published August 1949
Peas are a popular crop for the home gardener as they are easy to grow, can take up very little space – in fact you don’t need an allotment or kitchen garden to start growing peas as some varieties can be grown in containers – and as they like cooler temperatures means they do well in UK gardens.
In this growing guide we are specifically looking at growing garden peas – so peas that need to be shelled to be eaten. Garden peas can be divided into two different categories:
- Smooth Peas – these varieties tend to be hardier so if you want to sow your peas early in the year you are best to choose from this type. Smooth peas provide nowhere for water to collect making them highly suitable for sowing in the Autumn and Winter.
- Wrinkled Peas – with a sweeter flavour than smooth pea varieties, sow these types late spring through to summer. As they are wrinkled they will hold water which makes them more suitable for sowing in drier months.
Selecting The Seeds When Growing Peas
Smooth Peas – here are our suggestions of three varieties you could try:
Avola – a compact variety, ideal for small gardens or for growing in containers, these grow to be about 2ft in height and are a hardy, first early pea can be sown in Spring or Autumn.
Ambassador – with a good tolerance to bad weather and resistant to powdery mildew, this is a great variety for a first-time grower. Reaching about 30 inches in height they can be sown from April to May for harvesting in July through to September.
Meteor – one of the earliest peas for harvesting, it is also winter hardy and suitable for both Spring and Autumn sowing, producing an abundance of small, well-filled pods.
Wrinkled Peas – if this is your preferred type, here are three varieties we recommend:
Hurst Green Shaft – one of the most popular varieties of garden peas to grow, it produces heavy crops of long pods packed with about 10 peas. Grows to be about 2ft in height.
Kelvedon Wonder – needing no support these plants grow to a height of approx. 18 inches and are ideal for smaller gardens or containers. Sow between February to July for harvesting June through to September.
Alderman – a heritage maincrop which produces pods of up to 11 peas. With a tall growth habit they can grow almost 6ft in height so will need to be supported.
When growing peas they can also be divided into three different types based on their growth:
First earlies, for example Avola, Meteor, Feltham First
Sow between March to early June – these are hardier varieties and are quicker to crop, you can expect to harvest after about 12 weeks, so early Summer.
Second earlies, for example Jaguar, Hurst Greenshaft
Sow March to June – expect to harvest after about 13 to 14 weeks. This means you should be harvesting these varieties in mid Summer.
Maincrops, for example Rondo, Alderman
Sow March to early June – sown later in the year these ‘maincrops’ take longer to grow, you can expect to harvest after about 14 to 16 weeks. Typically you will be harvesting maincrops in late Summer, early Autumn.
When To Sow Garden Peas
Depending on the variety of peas you have chosen to grow – we always recommend looking at your seed packet where suggested sowing times will be indicated – you can sow pea seeds either indoors – allowing you to start sowing them earlier than standard, so from February – or they can be sown outdoors – you can start sowing from March depending on the weather (peas will not germinate in cold conditions so you are best to check the soil temperature and wait until it is averaging about 10 degrees Celsius before sowing).
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You can monitor soil temperature in your kitchen garden or allotment using a thermometer. This robust, aluminium cased soil thermometer is 8 inches long and is simply pushed into the soil and will display the temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. Measure the temperature at the same time everyday until it starts averaging 10 degrees Celsius - then it's time to sow. |
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How To Start Growing Peas Indoors
Sowing indoors allows you to sow your pea seeds earlier as you don’t have to consider the weather – whether it’s too cold or too wet to start growing peas.
When sowing indoors peas can be sown in modular trays, small pots, cardboard tubes (if you like to recycle) or even lengths of guttering (which makes them easy to plant out in rows later), but our recommendation would be to use 5 inch deep Rootrainers.
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Rootrainers not only provide a cell for each plant to grow in so their roots don’t become entangled, because they are available in 5 inch deep models, they also provide plenty of space for peas to produce a strong, healthy root structure. This healthy growth is also enhanced by the fact that rootrainers are specially designed to encourage long, straight root systems. |
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When sown indoors peas will germinate usually within 5 to 7 days. Although seeds will germinate when the compost is at 10 degrees Celsius, a temperature of 15 to 20 degrees Celsius is ideal for germination and if this is achieved then germination could be quicker – so it might be worth putting your pots or rootrainers within a propagator or heated tray to provide some even base heat and warm the compost.
Top Tip
You can speed up the germination process if you soak the pea seeds overnight in a cup of lukewarm water prior to sowing them.
When growing peas indoors you can fill your chosen container with a general multi-purpose compost and plant the pea seeds approx. 1 deep. Depending on the pot size you could fit three seeds, whilst in a rootrainer or cardboard tube just plant one pea seed. Once the seeds are planted and covered with compost water thoroughly.
Sowing indoors also means that you could sow peas in the Autumn, keeping the young plants protected indoors until they are ready to plant out in early spring.
Did You Know?
Some gardeners will pre germinate their pea seeds prior to planting in compost. Pre germination basically requires you to soak the seeds in lukewarm water for about 12 hours. Whilst in the water the seed coating will soften and the peas will absorb the water and swell – any that haven’t done this after 12 hours should be discarded. After draining the seeds from the water they can be placed in a lidded container lined with a damp piece of material or kitchen roll and kept somewhere warm. As soon the first shoot emerges from a pea seed they can be transferred carefully into their rootrainer or pot filled with compost.
Peas sown indoors can be left to grow until they are about 8 inches in height, then it's time to transfer them outdoors. Rather than straight from being indoors to outdoors, let them get used to the cooler temperature by hardening them off first. This can be done by placing the plants outdoors on mild days and bringing them back indoors overnight, until they are acclimatised sufficiently to survive being outdoors all the time.
Preparing The Ground When Growing Peas
When deciding where to grow your peas in your garden or allotment remember that they will grow best in a sunny location with good drainage. Once your location has been decided, prepare the ground – ideally do this in the Autumn, but if this wasn’t possible then at least two weeks prior to planting your peas into the ground.
To prepare the ground you first need to make sure it is free of weeds. Then check the pH, as peas grow best in a neutral to slightly alkaline soil, so a pH between 6 to 7.5. If you find that the soil is too acidic you can correct this by adding lime. You also want to make sure the soil is full of nutrients, so dig in lots of well-rotted manure or garden compost.
How To Transplant Your Growing Peas To Your Garden
Many pea varieties will grow tall enough to need support, so prior to planting your pea plants into your garden it’s a good idea to put some supports in place so that you can plant the peas next to them, ready for their tendrils to wrap around them and keep the plants upright.
For varieties growing up to 6ft tall it’s best to put in some substantial supports which will not only withstand any windy weather but will also be strong enough to support the weight of a plant full of pea pods ready to harvest.
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An attractive way to support tall varieties is to create a teepee shaped support – or purchase a kit which makes this easy for you to do such as our Growing Pole. With a 3ft base frame and 70 inch high central aluminium pole this support will provide ample room for lots of plants. Nylon twine is used to create a ‘maypole’ effect for your plants to grow up and provide the support they will need when full with pea pods. |
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Another way to support growing peas – and useful if you are growing a lot of peas at your allotment – is to create a long support so you can plant a row of peas.
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This is simple to do if you have some strong garden canes plus some of these cane supports. These sturdy support clips let you easily create an ‘a’ frame which you can position at your allotment to create lots of points for your pea plants to grow up. Ideally cover this with a net – such as pea netting / pigeon netting – which will provide a mesh into which the tendrils of the plants can cling onto. |
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How To Start Growing Peas Outdoors
Sowing garden peas directly outdoors should be possible from February onwards – all you need to be looking for is an average soil temperature of 10 degrees Celsius.
You can use a soil thermometer to check the temperature and you can help increase soil temperature by covering the ground for a few weeks prior to planting with a cloche.
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If you are going to grow a straight row of pea plants, then ideally use a row marker to get a straight line and make a trench approx. 1½in deep. Water along the trench prior to sowing the pea seeds, which should be spaced approx. 2in apart. If you are wanting to plant more than one row, then space the rows approx. 6in apart. Once sown, cover over with soil and water again. |
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It’s now a case of waiting for the peas to germinate – you can expect a germination rate of around 80% when growing peas outdoors.
Top Tip
Protect your newly sown peas from possible greedy garden visitors using our advice below – protecting your growing pea crops.
Looking After Your Growing Peas
Watering - what you need to take care of when watering your pea plants is to not over water them. Over watering will rot the roots and you can see when you have problems with over watering as the leaves on the plants will start to turn yellow, working from the base of the plants upwards.
Pea plants don’t need a lot of water and unless there is a dry spell, so once established in the ground the plants will only need about half an inch of water per week. Once the pea pods start to develop than your can increase the watering as this will help the pods to plump out.
Feeding - when it comes to peas, as long as you prepared the soil before planting to ensure if had the correct pH and was nutrient rich, then you shouldn’t need to feed your plants as they grow. In fact, excess nitrogen will cause pea plants to produce lots of foliage rather then flowers or pods.
Mulching - mulching vegetable crops is very popular as it helps you to retain moisture in the soil, reduce weeds and helps insulate plant roots against extremes of temperature – cold or hot. By using an organic material as your mulch – for example leaf mould, compost, well-rotted manure etc – your soil will also benefit from the added nutrients. Mulching in this way requires a 2 inch thick layer of material to be effective.
Weeding - when weeding around your pea plants you need to be careful to not damage the roots of the plants – pea plants are very tender. So weeding by hand is the safest choice rather than using a hoe.
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Pruning - pea plants are easy to take care of, with the only pruning suggested is to remove the tips of the plants once they have reached their maximum height or the top of their support structure. By doing this the plants will branch out and produce more pods rather than using their energy to grow taller. |
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Protecting Your Growing Pea Crops
When you first sow peas, and as they germinate and start to grow, they appear to attract most of the pests which will be interested in eating them. These could include:
Slugs and Snails – a menace in any garden, these slimy creatures will make a meal out of pea shoots and what could have been a healthy row of young plants and simply disappear overnight if slugs or snails find them.
Top Tip
If you want to protect your pea shoots but don’t want to use slug pellets, then you could try creating a ‘prickly’ barrier around your vulnerable young plants to prevent the soft-bodied slugs reaching them – you could try using eggshells, pine needles, thorny cuttings, sand or gravel.
Mice – and voles – will happily munch their way through recently sown rows of peas and will graze on the foliage of young seedlings.
Top Tip
If you want a chemical free, trap free, humane way of deterring mice from your peas then try sprinkling some chilli powder or cayenne pepper powder over the seeds and on the soil around emerging seedlings. This won’t harm the mice but they hate the smell so it should deter them from eating your potential crop.
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Pea Moth - if you have ever opened a pea pod and found whitish caterpillars eating into the peas inside then these are the larvae of the pea moth. With a wingspan of just 15mm this grey-brown moth which appears from June to July, the female moths are attracted to the pea plants in flower and lay their eggs. After hatching the caterpillars bore into the pea pods and that’s what you find when you are shelling the peas. |
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Wild birds – there are potentially lots of different birds which will feast on your pea plants, including jays, pigeons, sparrows. These birds can cause so much damage by stripping the leaves of the plants that can damage their growth or kill them altogether. Some birds will simply dig up the peas which you plant, such as blackbirds, so they don’t even get the chance to grow!
Pea leaf weevils – with nearly 500 species of weevil in the UK it’s likely if you are a vegetable grower that you are going to encounter some of them. Many do not do significant damage or affect the cropping and one such weevil is the pea leaf weevil. The adult weevils will eat into the leaf margins and shoot tips of peas, leaving behind characteristic ‘notches’, but this doesn’t appear to affect the pea crop itself.
Harvesting Garden Peas
Peas should be ready to harvest between 11 to 15 weeks after they were sown. With garden peas you can tell when it’s time to harvest them as the pods will be full and you will be able to feel the peas inside.
The best way to harvest peas, to encourage continuous growth, is to pick the pods regularly – this could even be every day – this also helps to avoid tough pods developing. Just be careful not to harm the plants as you regularly harvest.
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The best way to harvest the pods full of peas to prevent damage to your plants is to use one hand to hold the pod and the other hand to hold the stem of the plant. Pulling the pod up and away from the plant will detach it without damage. It will usually take between one to two weeks to harvest all the peas from plants sown at the same time – which is why, if you want a longer harvesting period, then staggered sowing is the best plan. |
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Did You Know
Farmers who have fields full of growing peas harvest them with military precision! They use a machine called a 'pea viner' which basically pulls the pea pods from the ground and prises the peas from the pod, ready for them to be transported to the factory where they will be washed, blanched and frozen.
Why Should You Spend Time Growing Peas?
The popularity of peas in the UK can be illustrated by the fact that on average, each person in Britain eats nearly 9,000 peas per year and although many of us will rely on a bag of frozen peas from the freezer, sweet, tender garden peas are best eaten as fresh as possible – so growing them yourself is the perfect answer.
Not only do we like peas, but they are actually good for us! Traditional green peas are fairly low in calories, are high in fibre and protein and contain several vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and the best way to retain their nutritional benefits is to eat them raw straight from the pod or lightly steamed or boiled.
Did you know . . .
We are not the only ones who like peas . . . ducks do too! They will happily eat them fresh, frozen or even dried . . . simply throw some in a water tub and see how excited the ducks get to eat them.
Fairly low in calories – 81 per 100g
A good source of vitamins and minerals – they are especially high in vitamins C, K, B6, folate, together zinc, magnesium and iron.
Good levels of fibre – approx. 5g dietary fibre in 100g of peas.
Very low in fat – peas only have 0.22g of fat per 100g.
Fairly high water content – approx. 78.5% water.
Green peas are part of the legume family so can cause bloating, together with gas and flatulence. Due to them containing a group of carbs called FODMAPs – fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols. These carbs escape digestion and are then fermented by the bacteria in your gut and as a result produce gas. You can reduce these symptoms by eating smaller portions but as a regular part of your diet so your body becomes used to digesting them.
Our growing peas guide has been created from our personal knowledge, information gathered by speaking to other gardeners or manufacturers in the gardening industry, by reading gardening magazines and devouring information from books and the internet. We aim to be as accurate as we can, so if you find a mistake, please remember, we’re only human. if you have any queries you can contact us today!