Family: Fabaceae
Genus and Species: Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon

Climate

Peas are a cool climate crop and prefer the cooler moist days of spring. Make sure you choose a variety or cultivar suited to your region. Grow peas during the cooler days of late spring and early summer. If growing peas during the summer choose a partly shady area.

Alternately plant peas in late summer for a fall harvest.

Soil

Peas need a fair amount of soil nutrients to produce a uniform crop. Loam soils offer good drainage and nutrient availability. Peas planted in early spring do well in raised beds. Since peas can be started as soon as the soil can be worked, it is easiest to prepare the bed during the previous fall for spring planting. Soil temperatures should be 65°-70° with a pH range from 6.0 to 7.0.

Spacing

Vine peas: Pea vines that are trellised should be planted 1" to 1-1/2" apart in rows 4'-6' apart.

Bush peas: Bush peas should be planted 1" to 1-1/2" apart in all directions in rows 12"-18" apart.
If you are planting a large bed of peas, they can be planted in a zig-zag pattern with 12"-18" between the plants.

Direct Seeding

Peas are not normally thinned so make sure you plant the peas at the proper spacing to begin with to avoid wasting seed. Plant your peas 1/2"-1" deep in soil that has been moistened over a few days ahead of the planting.

Seeding For Transplants

Transplanting peas is not normally practiced.

Germination

These seeds germinate best in soils around 60°F-70°F.
Germination will take 7-14 days.

Watering

Peas need to be kept evenly moist throughout the growing season. Use a mulch to retain soil moisture and water the peas during dry times to help keep your peas moist but not permanently wet. Peas like soil with good drainage, they suffer from root rot if they have "wet feet". Overhead watering should be done early in the day to reduce the incidence of leaf diseases that occur when the leaves remain wet overnight.

Harvesting

Peas are mature when their pod reaches the mature length and the pods are plump but not bursting. The length of the pea pod varies depending on the variety so save your seed packet. Overripe peas acquire a starchy flavor.

Harvest peas every 2-4 days to encourage continued production. Harvest peas even if they are overripe. Leaving overly mature peas on the vine slows production. Harvest by pinching or snapping the viney connectors which hold the pea pod to the vine.

Post-Harvest Handling

Wash and dry peas thoroughly. Peas are a moderately sensitive vegetable with a high-respiration rate. This means the peas must be cooled quickly after harvest to maintain their flavor, texture, color, and freshness. Pre-cooling to remove field heat prior to shipment is commonly practiced via forced air-cooling or hydro cooling. Hydro cooling is the process of spraying or immersing vegetables in chilled water.

Storage

Peas can be frozen, canned, or stored for 7-10 days at 32° with 90%-98% relative humidity.

Peas are very sensitive to ethylene gas so do not store them with fruits and vegetables that produce ethylene gas.

Diseases

Blindness, Bud Drop, Chimaera, Anthracnose, Black Root Rot, Botrytis (Grey Mould), Downy Mildew, MLO, Powdery Mildew, Ramularia Leaf Spot, Sclerotinea, Streak, and Virus.

Pests

Aphids, Pea Weevils, and Thrips.

Comments

Inoculants are typically dry powders that contain symbiotic rhizobial bacteria. When the seeds of legumes like bush peas and vine peas are treated with inoculant, the plants will form nitrogen nodules on their root systems as well as produce increased yields. The pea plants don't need the nitrogen fixed by the inoculant. Rather, when the pea plants are tilled under, the nitrogen in the nodules becomes available in the soil for the next crop of plants - preferably one that likes nitrogen like tomatoes.

To apply the inoculant, dust the pea seeds with a light amount of inoculant as you plant. Inoculant is an especially good idea if you haven't planted peas in the chosen area before.

Consistent, adequate soil moisture is important for good germination. Too much and the pea seeds will rot. Too little and the germination will stall or even stop altogether.

Weed control is essential especially in the first six weeks after planting. Shallow cultivation and hand-pulling are the preferred methods for weed removal.

References

Bradley, F. M. and Ellis, B. W.(Ed.). (1992), Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener, Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press.

Oregon State University, Peas , Commercial Vegetable Production Guides, Last modified 2003-01-03, http://www.oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/pea-w.html [1], Accessed 2003-05-03

Smith, E.C. (2000), The vegetable gardener's bible: discover Ed's high yield W-O-R-D system for all North American gardening regions., Storey Books: Pownal, VT.