If you've ever doubted the difference between grocery store veggies and garden-grown veggies, look no further than the pea for your proof. No exaggeration, these vegetables picked fresh off their vines are almost like candy. They're crisp, tender, just a hint sweet...literally nothing like dryish, stringy snap peas you can buy in bulk at the grocery store in January. Relatively simple to handle and get growing, they are also a great veggie for newer gardeners to cut their teeth on.
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| Photo: Rogue Valley Gardener |
Planting
When planting peas, ideally you'll prepare your soil during the preceding fall. (If not, no worries. You can still do this now.) This includes developing wide rows that are elevated (mounded) over the surrounding soil to help the soil drain properly. If your soil doesn't drain well, it will likely spoil your results. We also recommend adding bone meal to the soil. According to the Garden Guide for the Rogue Valley developed by the Jackson County Master Gardener Association, for every 50 feet of row you have, you'll want about four cups of bone meal.
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Soil Peas Like
When you actually plant your peas, powder or granular nitrogen inoculant can be used to beef up the nitrogen in your soil. If you have heavy soil, plant your peas 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. If you're planting in sandy soil, you'll want to get a little deeper - around 2 inches.
Every foot you can plant between 6 and 8 seeds (about 2 inches apart). Peas can handle a cool-weather start (best germination 50-60 degrees), so plant them any time starting in the months of February and March, but not later than mid-April for a good crop. (Some gardeners actually start in January, if the soil is tillable at that time.)
Peas can rot in the soil if there is too much moisture, so waiting to plant, or planting several cycles, is a good idea. Water gently especially at first so as not to displace soil. Thin your starts to half the number of plants after they have made a good start. Most careful watering is needed during onset of flowers and pod formation to make sure they are moist enough to develop fully, but don't drown your plants.
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| Photo: Rogue Valley Gardener |
Pea Supports
If you've planted tall varieties of peas, they'll want some support to grow on. Put your supports in place when you're planting, and place them with a row of peas planted on each side to maximize the benefit. Make sure your support structure is good and sturdy.
Peas can get large and unruly, and a stable support will not only keep them intact if there's some windy weather, it will also make harvesting easier by allowing you to avoid digging through mounds of foliage. If you're planting dwarf varieties of peas, you can use double rows that are six inches apart. Of course, single rows also work just fine.
Fighting Pea Disease
This is not where a pea dons its boxing gloves and starts throwing punches. (If your peas are doing that, take a video and post it for all of us to watch!) As a gardener, few things are as frustrating as watching your hard work go to waste due to a disease or insect problem.
Most pea seeds you purchase will have been treated with fungicide which will help protect your peas from rotting at lower soil temps. Peas from the Pacific Northwest may be infected by pea enation mosaic virus, which nasty aphids pass around. To fight against pea enation mosaic virus, use a variety of peas that have enation resistance. These include sugar snap (Sugar Sprint, Cascadia, etc.) and snow (such as the Oregon Giant) peas.
Handling Non-Fungicide-Treated Peas
If you do happen to buy pea seeds not treated by a fungicide, you can handle this yourself by treating the seeds with Captan. About a pinch of this per packet of seed should do the trick.
If you're not interested in using fungicide, you can pre-sprout your seeds:
- Soak them in water overnight
- Spread them out over newspaper or paper towels in a row on top of a flat container of some kind
- Cover the seeds with clear plastic wrap in a location that will hold a normal room temperature
As soon as all the seeds have sprouted they are ready for planting. As always, don't break off the sprouts as you plant 
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