Peas in the Garden: It’s Not Too Late to Plant!

You just can’t beat the taste of fresh peas from the garden! While Late Winter is probably the best time of year to get your Pea seeds in the ground, it is still not too late to plant them. Peas are cool season plants which means that they prefer cooler weather and have a very difficult time surviving through the hot temperatures and long days of Summer.  But, right now during Early Spring, it is a perfectly acceptable time to get your Peas started.  They take only a few weeks to grow and luckily we can even speed up the growth process of our seeds so they have a head start in the garden.

This process works well for all large seeds, including Corn, Sunflowers, Beans, Cucumbers, Squash, Pumpkin, Melons, and many more.  The key is to apply it to seeds large enough to pick up and separate easily with your fingers so they won’t stick together and are still easy to plant.

Soak your seeds in a container along with 3 – 4 times as much water. The water should be at room temperature and not too hot.  Hot water could damage the viability of the seeds. The seeds will expand, so allow plenty of liquid for them to absorb and still be covered.  Let them sit for 24hrs for maximum effect, then take outside and plant directly into the ground! Don’t bother starting them in a pot or starter trays, Peas don’t always transfer well and tend to go through a little shock when you do, which sets back their growth a bit.  But, with them being as easy as they are to plant straight into the ground there really is no reason to ever have to start them in trays.

Tips for a Longer Harvest! If you would like your Peas to last longer in the garden, try planting them in a cooler part of your yard.  For the last 20+ years, mine have been located in  part sun/part shade and have done absolutely fantastic and seem to love a break from the hot sun once the warmer temperatures come around.  Also, be sure to keep picking your Peas! Once you allow even one pod to over-ripen and mature, it sends the message to the plant that it no longer needs to produce new Pea Pods.  The vine will then begin to turn yellow and the peas are now good only for saving as seeds for your next crop.  So, be sure to keep picking while they are young and sweet and discard any that get too large and bitter until you are ready save them as seeds!  Following these steps, I am able to keep mine producing until mid-Summer!