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How to grow Peas in the UK

Sweet peas straight from the pod - most never make it to the kitchen!

• DifficultyEasy peasy
• WhereBeds or Pots
• Grows to120cm
• Spacing8cm
• Time to first pickabout 12 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest peas

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Starting it indoors

1. Fill a small pot or tray with seed compost
2. Push the seeds in (4cm deep) - a couple per pot
3. Water gently, then put them on a bright windowsill
4. Keep the compost damp but not soggy - check it every day
5. When they have 2 proper leaves, give each seedling its own pot

Sowing it outdoors

1. Pull out any weeds and rake the top of your bed until it's crumbly, like cake crumbs
2. Make a little line in the soil (4cm deep) with your finger or a stick
3. Drop the seeds in, about 8cm apart in the row, with rows 40cm apart
4. Gently cover them with soil and pat it down
5. Water with a watering can that has a sprinkler head
6. Push in a label so you remember what's there

Planting it out

1. Toughen them up ('hardening off'): put them outside in the day for a week, bring them in at night
2. Dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot
3. Tip the plant out gently, holding the leaves, not the stem
4. Pop it in the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well
5. Space the plants about 8cm apart in the row, with rows 40cm apart

Top tips for growing peas

• Mice love pea seeds - starting them in a length of old guttering indoors stops that.

Looking after peas

• At planting: Check your pea row - if mice have dug seeds up (little holes, gaps in the row), sow more in the gaps
• Week 2: Help the first tendrils find the supports - they'll hold on by themselves after that

Soil and feeding

Any decent soil - they make their own food from the air!. Peas and beans take nitrogen from the air, so they don't need rich soil. Some compost in the planting trench helps hold water.

Pests and problems

• Wood pigeons: strip the soft young leaves off peas, beans and cabbage-family plants
• Mice: dig up and eat big seeds like peas, beans and sweetcorn
• Slugs & snails: munch seedlings overnight, worst in wet weather
• Pea moth: lays eggs on the flowers - you find little maggots inside the pods

• Start them in a length of old guttering indoors, so mice can't dig up the seeds
• Bend canes or plastic pipe into hoops over the row
• Stretch netting over the hoops, pulled tight so birds can't get tangled
• Peg or weigh down the edges so nothing can sneak underneath
• Check it every day

Harvesting and eating peas

Pick when the pods are fat and bulging. The more you pick, the more they make.

How to eat them: Eat raw from the pod, or boil for 2 minutes with a bit of mint.

Storing peas

Keeps 2-3 days - eat them fast, they lose their sweetness.

• Keep in their pods in the fridge

Freeze brilliantly: pod them, blanch them (dip in boiling water for 1 minute, then straight into icy water - ask a grown-up to help), dry, spread on a tray to freeze, then bag. Keeps 12 months.

Good varieties of peas

• Kelvedon Wonder: Short plants that crop early - good in windy spots.
• Hurst Green Shaft: Long pods packed with sweet peas.
• Oregon Sugar Pod: Mangetout - eat the whole flat pod, no podding!
• Sugar Ann: Crunchy sugar snap pods - a brilliant snack.

Companion planting

Grows well with

• Radishes: radishes are picked before the peas need the space
• Salad leaves: lettuce likes a bit of shade from the peas in summer
• Carrots: they grow at different heights and depths
• Calendula (pot marigold): brings hoverflies, whose babies eat greenfly
• Poached egg plant: brings hoverflies, whose babies eat greenfly
• Phacelia: brings hoverflies, whose babies eat greenfly
• Cornflowers: brings helpful insects

Keep away from

• Onions: onions can stunt peas
• Garlic: garlic can stunt peas
• Leeks: leeks can stunt peas
• Spring onions: the onion family can stunt peas
• Chives: the onion family can stunt peas

Saving your own peas seed

Late summer, when the pods are dry and rattle.

1. Leave a few of the best pods on the plant - don't pick them
2. Wait until the pods turn brown and papery and you can hear the seeds rattle
3. Pick them on a dry day and pop the seeds out
4. Spread them on a plate indoors for 2 weeks to dry completely

Things to build for peas

• Pea netting frame:
• Hoop tunnel cover:
• Cold frame:

Where to buy peas seeds

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Peas questions

When should I sow peas in the UK?

In the UK, sow peas indoors from early March to late April or outdoors from late March to late June. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.

When do I plant out peas?

Plant peas out from early April to mid June.

When can I pick peas?

Peas is ready from early June to mid September. Pick when the pods are fat and bulging. The more you pick, the more they make.

How long do peas take to grow?

Roughly 12 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are peas easy to grow?

Peas are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.