Overview and History
This protein-rich vegetable is native to the Mediterranean region, and when Europe was colonized, they were introduced to the New World. In the mid-1800s, peas were studied by a famous monk in Austria, Gregor Mendel which led to his breakthrough studies on DNA, genes, and inheritance.
Peas give back to the planet by capturing nitrogen from the air and creating their fertilizer, cutting down on inputs and boosting plants around or after them.
Different types of peas come in various sizes, colors, and vine types. They can be used as a row crop or trellised in your garden with vines to create a beautiful cascade for harvest throughout the season.
Three Main Types of Peas
Snow
- Have an edible pod that is flat and has smaller berries as opposed to sugar snap and shelling peas.
- Perfect in Asian dishes like stir-frying or snacking fresh.
Snap
- Are sweet, juicy edible podded peas that are higher in sugar content making them a tasty fresh snack.
- Snap peas usually mature earlier making them a fun healthy snack for kids in the garden.
English (Shelling)
- Have fibrous inedible pods, but delicious berries.
- Suited for canning and freezing but still makes a great snack freshly shelled out of the garden.
Avalanche Snow Pea
Little Snow Pea Purple
Oregon Giant Snow Pea
OSP II Snow Pea
Popular Pea Varieties
Snak Hero – Snap Pea AAS Winner: Snak Hero is so super-sweet and delicious that it would be no surprise if they never make it to the kitchen! Stringless, edible pods are perfect for healthy, garden-fresh snacking, stir-frying, or freezing for later. Frequent harvesting can easily bump up production for a long, substantial harvest window.
Patio Pride – Container Snap Pea AAS Winner: This compact beauty produces sweet, uniform pods that are very tender when harvested early. This pea is wonderful when planted in containers and is ideal for succession planting yielding a consistent harvest over many weeks. Plant in patio containers with cool-season flowers for a beautiful combination of ornamental and edible display.
Mr. Big – English Pea AAS Winner: Mr. Big is a superior English or garden pea. The larger pods are easier to shell. The fresh sweet peas are delicious, no need for butter. Mr. Big produces a high yield because the plants are early, frequently setting two pods per node and the disease resistances lengthen the plant life.
Sugar Ann – Snap Pea AAS Winner: One of the best features of Sugar Ann is its earliness, up to 2 weeks earlier than comparisons. Its plump, edible pods are very sweet. The short, compact growth habit of Sugar Ann makes it ideal for urban gardeners with limited space who were previously unable to grow snap peas.
Sugar Snap – Snap Pea AAS Winner: In 1970, Calvin Lamborn discovered an unusual pea plant in his field, he saved the seed and out of that variety became the first ever snap pea type with an edible pod. With Sugar Snap Peas you get to eat the entire pod with the peas nestled inside. The pods are juicy, crisp, sweet, and crunchy. Stringless, 3-inch pods keep their rich color and real crunch after cooking.
Avalanche – Snow Pea: Avalanche is a rare afila-type Snow Pea with a semi-leafless afila vine type that has excellent stand-ability even after it sets loads of double 5.25” pods. Exceptional yields with a beautiful dark color make Avalanche a wonderful market competitor.
Peas ‘N’ Pod Bernard – Petite English Pea: Bernard is a unique petite pea grown on an afila vine keeping the plants tight and pods out of the soil. Bernard grows as a uniform hedge and produces beautiful white flowers in bloom. Bernard’s compact architecture allows it to be grown in a pot, raised bed, or small garden.
PLS 595 – English Pea: This delicious variety is a standout in shelling peas for its pod production, attractive plant, and berries in each pod. Plants will produce two long pods, with on average of 11 berries in each pod. Customers are raving about the ease of handpicking due to the high set of pods in plant and upright plant types.
Sugar Snap Pea
Snak Hero Snap Pea
Patio Pride Snap Pea
Little Snap Pea Crunch
Special Offers
Sugar Snap Pea
One of the best early snap peas and easy-to-grow! Excellent choice for smaller garden spaces and containers.
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The Essential Guide to Peas
From soil to snack: Master the art of growing perfect peas.
How to Grow Peas in Your Garden
1. Sowing Seeds
- Peas are a cool-season crop, they prefer cool weather, and some varieties can be autumn-sown.
- Direct sow into the garden once soil temperatures are at least 40–50°F
- Seed Depth: Between ½ & 1 ½ inches
- Plant spacing: 1-2 inches apart, more space between rows for trellising peas is recommended.
- Days to Maturity: Peas are a quick-season crop ranging from 52-75 days depending on variety and location.
2. Trellising
- Self-trellising. Yes, that’s right! One such crop that loves to self-trellis is peas.
- Peas are typically bred for two different leaf types:
- Normal vines are typically taller overall plants, ranging anywhere from 3-6 feet tall, and do best on a constructed trellis system. Otherwise, they will tend to lie on the ground.
- Afila vines are typically pea plants that are shorter in stature, averaging 18-24 feet tall, and have extra tendrils. These abundances of tendrils stick together as the plants grow acting like Velcro meaning they do not need a trellis and will use each other to stand tall! Afila-type vines are traditionally bred for large acre productions since the vines will stay up and off the ground causing improved airflow, better disease resistance, and ease of harvest. Copy this growing method in a garden, raised bed, or container for easy peasy growing.
Peas ‘N’ Pod Bernard English Pea
Champion of England English Pea
Mr. Big English Pea
PLS 595 English Pea
3. Pollination
- Peas are self-pollinating and do not need bees or insects to set fruit.
- A bonus for small spaces or balconies where pollination can be an issue.
4. Harvest: Depends on the pea type
- English peas: Pods should be harvested when the berries fill out the pod but not too big to where the pod starts to look bumpy. Bumpy pods mean the berries are over-mature meaning the sugars are turning into starch and the flavor is leaving.
- Sugar Snaps: Be sure to avoid pods that are still flat. You want to harvest as plump of pods as you can. But also watch for a leathery texture on the outside of the pod which indicates over-maturity.
- Snow peas: Some snow peas are indeterminate and keep on giving through the season. Harvest them when the pods are flat and the seeds inside are barely visible. If you find that some of your pods are flat but curvy – that is ok! The curvier the more tasty they are!
5. Fertilization
- To get the best performance out of peas, it’s best to add in a slow-release fertilizer after planting.
Common Pests and Disease Info
Like most plants, peas experience pest and disease pressure, but not to worry, there are ways to keep the bugs away and plants healthy through the season.
Common Pests
- Aphids:
- Aphids are virus transmitters, and the best way to avoid them is to feed their predators, planting insectary plants such as marigolds or elderberry can help.
- Another way is to wash them off the plants with a powerful jet hose.
- A last resort would be insecticidal soaps or oil.
- Pea Weevils:
- These are little pests that burrow into pods and can destroy healthy berries or seeds.
- One way to avoid this is by planting early maturing varieties such as Sugar Ann.
- Protect young plants with garden fabric and remove them once the plant reaches the 6th leaf stage.
- Removing pea debris in the fall will reduce the risk of weevils coming back in the spring.
Common Diseases
- Root Rot:
- Root rots can stunt pea plants, cause the plant to underproduce, or kill the plant altogether.
- One of the best practices to avoid root rots is to choose pea varieties that are tolerant or resistant to the diseases.
- Downy & Powdery Mildew:
- Downy & powdery mildew are common diseases that cause plants to look very sick and stunt yields.
- Choosing varieties with downy & powdery tolerance or resistance is a sure way to avoid disease.
- Here are other garden practices to avoid disease:
- Planting within the recommended spacing to avoid overcrowding
- Avoiding overwatering – keep the soil moist, but not drenched through the season.
- Control pests such as aphids that are virus transmitters
- Crop rotating within your garden
- Preparing the soil before planting with proper tillage
- Weed control before planting & throughout the season
Little Snow Pea White
Little Snap Pea Petite Shoots
Cascadia Snap Pea
Strike English Pea
Home Gardening Tips
- What other parts of a pea plant are edible? The edible stems, leaves, and curly tendrils of pea plants are known as the pea tendrils. No matter the type of pea (snow, sugar snap, shelling), all peas have pea tendrils that extend from the base of the plant to help support the plant to stand up in the field. These pea tendrils can be consumed in salads for a fresh, healthy crunch or cooked to add pea flavor.
- Pea shoots, however, are the entire young plant (leaves, stem, and tendrils) commonly harvested as microgreens. Sow indoors for pea shoots by densely scattering seed or growing hydroponically for a quick harvest. Cut back the entire plant when they are roughly two to six inches tall.
- Grow afila vine peas for easy growing and to maximize space! They are self-trellising and do not require any support.
- Did you know that if you plant peas and reuse the soil the next crop will have a boost in yield that can be up to 10%? More productivity just by planting peas and reusing the soil.
- The curvier a snow pod is the better flavor and sugar content it will have. Curvy pods mean that there is less fiber in the pod. So, select varieties that have a strong curve since this is generally a genetic trait.
- Certain pea varieties can work great in raised beds or containers. After selecting the right variety plant seed roughly 1 inch apart.
- Read your variety description if they will benefit from trellising. Some climbing peas can reach 6-8 feet tall.
- Peas are great companion plants for other vegetables such as barley, oats, and corn. This is beneficial for the soil and for overall yields.
- One little known, but important practice is controlled watering. After seeds are planted, peas benefit from light daily watering for up to 2 weeks until emergence. After roots are established, and a healthy plant has formed, they will only need ½ inch per week or water every other day to avoid root rot issues.
- If your pea pods and berries become dry, you can cook them in soups, rice mixtures, and stews.
- Sugar snap peas make a snap sound when you break them. Harvest them when the pods start to swell.
Learn More About Peas
- Perfect Peas: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties for Garden-to-Table Meals by National Garden Bureau
- 7 Easy Vegetable Trellising Methods to Elevate Your Garden by National Garden Bureau
- AAS Winning Garden Peas by All-America Selections
- Pea Growing Guide by Territorial Seed Company
- Green Peas Growing Guide by Hoss
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