Field Peas Pisum sativum

The garden pea. Peas are a cool-season crop grown for their edible seed or seed pods. The pod and the seed within are a valuable food source around the world, and the flowers and young shoots can be eaten as well. In addition, peas also feed the soil by fixing nitrogen; certain varieties can be used as a cool-season cover crop for this reason, often under the name Austrian Winter Pea or Pisum arvense.

Peas grow best in full sun and moist, well-drained soil. It can tolerate a range of soil textures so long as it has good drainage, and it does best in a pH range of 6-7.5. While they can tolerate partial shade, they need full sun to properly develop flowers and set fruit.

Peas come in tall, vining varieties that grow peas throughout the season and shorter bush varieties that set a determinate crop all at once. Vining varieties are best grown on a trellis such as stakes and twine or a metal fence in order to minimize disease. Other varieties affect seed and pod shape– Garden peas grow round, starchy seeds and fibrous pods, snow pea pods are harvested with barely-grown seeds, and sugar snap peas have juicy green-bean like pods and almost-full seeds.

Peas are a cool-season crop and stop growing when temperatures reach 85F. In NC, this leaves a very small growth window. Plant seeds directly in the soil as soon as the ground has thawed, sometime late February to March; young plants have some frost resistance. Handle seeds gently as they damage easily and will be less likely to germinate. Seeds should be planted 1 in deep and 2-3 in apart.  Peas can also be grown in containers of a minimum size of 2 gal and depth of 12 in.  The plants often reach harvest stage in 60 days, May or June in NC.  Plantings can be staged a week apart for a longer harvest season.

Edible: 

• Seeds are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. 
• Flowers taste like raw peas and along with young shoots, can be added to salads.
• NOTE:  While the flowers of the edible pea are edible, the flowers of ornamental sweetpeas Lathyrus odoratus,  are poisonous.  Do not plant them near each other where they could become confused.

Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems:

• Seeds can rot or seedlings damp off if planted too early in cold, wet soil
• Cutworms and aphids can be a problem, severing young shoots and spreading disease respectively, though the latter does not usually affect pods
• Powdery Mildew can occur in hot weather and affect both leaves and pods
• Root rot and fusarium wilt are common ailments that can cause roots and plants to wilt and die.  Look for resistant varieties

VIDEO Created by Homegrown featuring Bill Lord, former Area Specialized Agent for NC State Extension