How to Grow Garden Peas

Plant early into cold soil

Peas are cool-weather, frost-tolerant vegetables that want temperatures below 80°F, which is why they go in first — plant as soon as you can till the soil in spring. Soil needs to be at least 40°F to sow, and seedlings emerge in 7 to 10 days when soil is 55 to 65°F.

Plant seed a half to 1 inch deep, spaced 1 to 2 inches apart, in rows 12 to 24 inches apart. For a longer supply, sow every 14 to 21 days until about April 1 in warm regions or May 1 in cooler ones — after that, summer heat cuts the season short.

The when-to-plant-peas calculator localizes that early window, and peas-plant-spacing answers layout on its own.

Types and support

There are three kinds worth knowing: garden or shelling peas (like Early Frosty, Green Arrow, Little Marvel, Sparkle) that you shell out of the pod; snap peas (Sugar Daddy, Super Sugar Snap) with sweet edible pods; and snow peas (Oregon Sugar Pod) with flat, tender pods eaten whole. Most garden varieties also dry well for storage.

Most peas are largely self-supporting, but taller varieties are more productive and much easier to harvest if you cage, trellis, or fence them. Setting the support at sowing time saves wrestling with tangled vines later.

Because peas fix their own nitrogen, they need no additional fertilizer if a fertilizer or compost was applied at planting; excess nitrogen delays flowering. The best-fertilizer-for-peas calculator covers this.

Water, harvest, and problems

Keep soils near field capacity, especially during flowering — drought at bloom causes pod abortion and reduces quality. The how-often-to-water-peas calculator gives the watering readout on its own.

Peas require 60 to 70 days to mature depending on variety. Garden (shelling) peas are ready about 18 to 21 days after flowering, when the seeds inside are plump; snap and snow peas are picked earlier, while the pods are still tender. The when-to-harvest-peas calculator covers timing.

Powdery mildew is the common late-season disease as weather warms; the powdery-mildew-on-peas diagnostic covers it, and can-you-plant-tomatoes-with-peas addresses interplanting.

Sources

Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.

• Utah State University Extension — Peas in the Garden — Peas are cool-weather, frost-tolerant vegetables requiring temperatures below 80°F; plant as soon as you can till the soil in spring, with soil at least 40°F to plant and seedlings emerging in 7-10 days at 55-65°F; plant seeds 1/2-1 inch deep, spaced 1-2 inches apart, in rows 12-24 inches apart, sowing every 14-21 days until April 1 in warm regions and May 1 in cooler regions; garden/shelling varieties include Early Frosty, Green Arrow, Little Marvel, Sparkle, snap/snow types include Oregon Sugar Pod, Sugar Daddy, Super Sugar Snap; most varieties are self-supporting but taller varieties are more productive and easier to harvest if caged, trellised, or fenced; peas require 60-70 days to mature; maintain soils near field capacity during flowering because drought causes pod abortion; peas need no additional fertilizer if fertilizer or compost was applied at planting and excess nitrogen delays flowering; garden peas are ready for harvest about 18-21 days after flowering when seeds are plump.

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