How to Grow Peas from Seed

Peas should be sown in a warm, sunny and open site with well-drained soil. They should be grown in a spot that peas haven’t been grown in for at least 2 years.

Prepare the soil by thoroughly weeding the soil before sowing. Adding in some manure or garden compost a few weeks before sowing can help to provide beneficial nutrients to your pea plants. They prefer neutral or mildly alkaline soil, so lime soil conditioner should be added if your soil is acidic.

They enjoy a cool season, so crops will be higher in cooler summers at 13-18°C (55-65°F).

All legumes need plenty of soil moisture. The easiest way to achieve this is to dig a trench in autumn and fill it with moisture-holding materials such as compost, but even shredded newspaper and unrotted garden waste can be used. Top off the trench with soil a fortnight before sowing or planting to give the contents time to settle.

When to Sow Peas

When you sow your peas will depend on whether you’re sowing indoors or outdoors:

If sowing peas indoors, you should sow them in February or March for a head start.

For sowing outdoors, you should follow the following recommendations:

First Earlies are sown from March to early June and will be ready to pick in 11 to 13 weeks.

Second Earlies are sown from March to June and ready in around 14 weeks.

Maincrops are sown from March to June and take up to 16 weeks.

Additional Tips

If you sow earlies or second earlies every 14-28 days from March to June, you will be rewarded with a continuous crop. There are also some varieties of peas that are hardy enough to be sown in October/November, such as Pea Meteor and Pea Douce Provence.

How to Sow Peas

Sowing Peas Indoors

Peas can be sown indoors to give them a head start in more controlled conditions. This can be useful in preventing slugs and snails from attacking your seedlings and preventing the risk of seeds failing to germinate due to the cold and wet climate.

There are several methods of sowing indoors, which are described below. Whichever of these methods you choose, you should sow your pea seeds indoors around February or March.

You can sow your seeds in seed trays and using quality, peat-free garden compost, sowing one seed per module around 5cm (2in) deep. 

One method that is relatively popular is to sow seeds across a length of guttering to ensure they grow in straight rows and for easy planting into a trench when planted outdoors. These should be sown about 7.5cm (3in) apart in a double row.

Sowing Peas Outdoors

If you’re sowing your peas directly outdoors, you should do so between March and early June when the soil is warm.

The easiest way to sow is to dig out a flat-bottomedtrench with a spade, 5cm (2in) deep and 15cm (6in) wide. Then sow the seeds evenly in the trench, in a zigzag fashion, approximately 7.5cm (3in) apart, cover lightly with soil and firm down. If you require a second row, the distance between the rows should be the approximate expected height of the plants.

Support

Apart from dwarf varieties, you will need to provide some support for the plants to scramble up. One of the easiest and most natural supports is to insert some twiggy branches alongside the plants when they are approximately 7.5cm (3in) tall. You could use pea netting for them to grow up,though some may find it difficult to untangle the plants from at the end of the season.

When to Plant Peas

If you’ve started your seeds indoors, you can plant your pea plants outdoors from March onwards when they’re around 20cm (8in) high. They should be planted out after being gradually hardened off to acclimatise them to outdoor conditions.

How to Plant Peas

You should plant your pea plants as described above in the Sowing Peas Outdoors section, with plants spaced about 7.5cm (3in) apart. Cover them lightly with soil, firm them down and water them well.

For plants that are grown in guttering as described above, simply dig a trench out that accommodates the guttering’s size and then carefully place it into the trench. Then, firm down the soil and water well.

You will need to add supports for the plants as described above.

Watering

Once your peas are established, they will generally only need watering in dry periods to keep the soil moist. However, they will benefit from watering when they begin to flower and again two weeks after to support pod growth. Take care to water your plants at the base and not wet the leaves, as this can lead to powdery mildew developing.

Weeding

You can keep the soil weed-free by hand-weeding, hoeing or mulching. However, mulching has additional benefits, as described below.

Mulching

Add a thick layer of organic matter as a mulch, such as well-rotted manure or garden compost, to help keep the roots cool and moist, and to prevent the growth of weeds.

When to Harvest Peas

Peas are ready for harvest between 10-16 weeks, depending on the variety. Typically, early varieties will mature faster, while maincrops will take a few weeks longer.

How to Harvest Peas

Pods are ready to be harvested when they are well-filled, still fresh and green and haven’t started to dry out. Mangetout peas should be picked when the pods are about 7.5cm (3in) long and the peas are just starting to develop. You should pick them regularly, or the plant will stop producing pods.

Pea shoots can be picked and used in dishes such as stir-fries. However, you shouldn't pick many of these, as this can affect pod growth.

Storing Peas

You should pick pods as they appear to encourage their growth, but you can store your peas for later if you don't wish to use them at the time.

All peas can be frozen, simply shell them and blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, then allow to cool and freeze. They are best used within 12 months of freezing.

If peas are to be dried, leave them on the plant as long as possible, lifting just before the seeds are shed. They then need to be spread out or hung in a cool, airy place until they split and the peas can be harvested.

Peas are generally resistant plants that will grow healthily with the right care. However, there are one or two problems that they have been known to face. Below are the most common of these and methods of either preventing or resolving the issue:

Pea moth: The one pest you want to be careful of is pea moth, whose presence you’ll only notice when it comes to shelling your peas – the maggots will have got to them first! The females lay eggs just as the flowers fade and pods are developing, so this is the time to do something about it.

Natural solutions include covering with garden netting, such as Enviromesh, or using pest and disease control products, such as a pheromone trap. Using netting and pest control products can also help to deter mice, slugs and snails, or pigeons who can attack pea plants.

Powdery mildew: Powdery mildew is a fungal disease which can be identified by the white, powdery appearance leaves of infected plants develop, similar to talcum powder. This can impact your plants’ growth and affect the flavour and size of your peas. To prevent this disease, avoid getting plant leaves wet and water at the base, water your plants enough to keep the soil moist and space plants out enough to ensure good airflow.

We asked our customers for their best advice on growing peas and beans from seed. Some of these tips have appeared in our catalogues, though we’ve added them to this guide for further readers to see. Pea and bean seeds have a lot of overlap in how they grow, so these tips can generally be applied to both. We will note that we haven’t tried all of these tips ourselves, though they may offer use in seeing how other gardeners grow their produce.

If you’d like to find out more techniques to growing beans, you can read our guides on how to grow broad beans, how to grow french beans and how to grow runner beans to get you started.

• Sowing after rainfall – Sow them thickly if it has just rained without soaking. Dig a trench a spade deep, half-fill with well-rotted manure or compost, scatter in peas, water, fill trench with shop compost and stake as soon as they come through with Hazel 5ft twigs. Water if dry to avoid mildew.
• Kitchen towel – I tend to start them off indoors on damp kitchen paper towel and wait for signs of germination before planting out.
• Pea netting – Make sure your pea netting is firmly fixed in place & strong enough to hold a heavy crop - ever hopeful!
• Rootrainers – I always start peas and beans in Rootrainers in a cold greenhouse. Water the seeds well but infrequently to stop the seed rotting. I open up one of the modules before watering to confirm that watering is needed.
• Dusting with soot – Run the rows east to south and dust with a year-old soot.
• Taller or smaller varieties – Grow tall varieties in a big tub with a wire obelisk to keep them out of the wind. Grow small varieties in a self-watering window box - they're easy to harvest and out of the wind.
• Best pea growing tips – To grow the best crop of peas Dig a trench about 20cm deep and the same wide, line it with newspaper, grass clippings or cardboard, (in fact anything that will conserve moisture), backfill the trench, then plant your peas along the trench in the usual way, (exhibition growers will have sown them in 3-inch pots in the greenhouse)

Form your pea frame above your peas with canes starting at the ends, put two canes in, upright each side of the trench, then bend them together and join with string at the top. Repeat at the other end of the trench, now you can put the ridge cane across the top. Finally, put the rest of the cane pairs in place and secure to the ridge cane.

This method makes a much neater job and makes the whole job easy peasy. Each plant has enough space, air and moisture without the dreaded mildew.

• Wigwams – Sow them on wigwams around a shallow bowl made in the middle of the wigwam. This way, I can tip on copious amounts of water without it running away.
• Attracting pollinators – Grow flowering plants attractive to pollinators (bees, etc.) near your peas and beans to encourage pollination.
• Soaking seeds – You can soak pea seeds for about 24 hours before sowing, but no longer than 48 hours. However, sowing peas in damp soil will also suffice. Dig your trench about 15cm wide and 7.5 cm deep. Mix the soaked seeds into a bucket of garden compost thoroughly, then let the mix go into the trench. It will give the seeds a fresh, disease-free bed to lie in. It also reduces the risks of pea thrips & similar from attacking the small seedlings.
• Cinnamon powder – Dust slightly dampened seeds with cinnamon powder before sowing. Works quite well in stopping fungal seed rot.

Shop Pea Seeds and Plants at D.T. Brown

Now that you know all about growing peas, you can find a diverse range of pea seeds and pea plants in our range of excellent gardening supplies at D.T. Brown. We’ve been supplying gardeners with quality seeds for over a century, so you can rely on our seeds to grow vigorously and produce delicious crops. 

If you’d like to find out how to grow many more great varieties of vegetable seeds and fruit seeds, our garden blog has many more growing guides similar to this one to get your growing space thriving and full of fresh produce.

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