You can see in our What to Plant in March, and What to Plant in April articles that it varies by area. Now in Texas, it’s almost always early February. While some more southern climates might plant them before the beginning of the year to winter over, you may need to wait until real spring if you live in more northern area.įor us living in Tennessee, we sometimes planted as early as January, but had the most success waiting until the end of February. Your growing area and plant hardiness zone will determine a lot when growing sugar snap peas. Snap peas are a cool weather crop and need to mature before summer heat sets in. In warmer climates, peas do best in an area that gets 4-6 hours of morning sunlight, and shade in the afternoon. Peas can adapt to full sun or partial shade depending on your climate. If your soil consists of heavy clay, it can be helpful to add some sand to aid in drainage, but other than that, sugar snap peas are very hardy, and while it can be helpful to get a soil test to determine if amendments are needed, they will grow in most types of soil.Īnother consideration in where you plant them is sunlight. Rich in organic matter is best for growing sugar snap peas, and fine dirt is needed, so add in some compost, or aged manure, and make sure you remove any rocks and sticks from your growing area. These peas grow best in well-drained soil. While snow peas are flat, sugar snap peas are round. The main difference between the two is the thickness of the pod at harvest. The sugar snap pea is a member of the legume family, and like snow peas, are eaten pod and all. They add a delightful crunch, and burst of sweetness. I even like them chopped to about 1/2 inch in length and tossed in a salad. They’re great in a stir-fry, or served fresh as a snack. Each flower that appears on your pea vine will turn into a sugar snap pea pod.For the beginner gardener, growing sugar snap peas is a great way to get a crop of tasty, tender vegetables early in the season. If you are planting in blocks or wide rows you might not need to mulch as the plants will shade the soil to keep it cool. You should mulch the bottom of your sugar snap pea plants to help keep the soil cool and moist. When the vines are about 6 inches tall you can provide them with a top dressing of organic fertilizer or compost. If the sugar snap pea vine needs additional assistance attaching to the trellis I can just take some garden twine and tie it horizontally from one end of the trellis to the other going around the pea vines so they are sandwiched between the twine and the trellis. I make sure to assist them, as they grow larger, to connect to the trellis I have setup for them. Make sure to water them to keep their soil evenly moist. Once your sugar snap peas have sprouted they typically need very little care. Most varieties will sprout within 7 to 10 days of planting. Once planted make sure the soil for the peas is consistently moist. When growing vining varieties I usually grown wide rows on either side of my trellis so as they grow I can help attach them to the trellis with twine. If growing bush varieties you can grow them in wide bands or blocks so that they support each other when growing. Plant your seeds 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart if planting bush varieties or 4 inches apart if planting vining varieties. Pea inoculant is a beneficial bacterium that can help the pea plants grow more vigorously and increase pod production. You can dust your sugar snap pea seeds with pea inoculant. Plant your sugar snap peas as soon as the ground has thawed and after your last frost date in the spring. Sugar snap peas will slow their growth and production if temperatures are consistently above 70 degrees. Depending on your growing season, if it is not too hot in early fall you might also be able to fit in a fall crop of sugar snap peas. Peas are typically an early spring crop because they do not like the hot weather. Sugar snap peas will grow in full sun or partial shade so there are multiple options on where to place your snap pea plants.
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