Last Updated on September 13, 2026
How Many Pea Plants per Square Foot?
9 peas per square foot on the chart; I plant eight to ten. Peas are a cool-season crop that goes in as soon as the soil can be worked, and they climb, so plant them along a trellis on both sides.
The spacing pattern
| Square foot method | 9 per square on the chart; I plant 8 to 10 per square, on both sides of a string trellis |
|---|---|
| 4 x 4 bed (16 squares) | 144 pea plants |
| 4 x 8 bed (32 squares) | 288 pea plants |
Peas do not mind crowding at all. They are thin plants that grab a trellis with tendrils and grow up, not out, and they fix their own nitrogen. A dense planting along a string trellis turns into a wall of pods you can pick from both sides.
Planting the square
- Put the trellis up before you plant; a few branches and jute string is enough.
- Coat the seed with inoculant and sow an inch deep, 8 to 10 per square, on both sides of the trellis.
- Pick every day once they start; pods left on the vine tell the plant to stop.
Tim’s growing notes
My five steps for a continuous supply, plus the free trellis from branches, are in How to Grow Peas.
Soil temperature for germination
From my Seed Germination Temperature Chart: peas germinate from 40°F, do best at 65-75°F, and stop above 85°F.
Days for seedlings to emerge at different soil temperatures, from the same chart:
| Soil temperature | Days to emerge |
|---|---|
| 50°F | 14 days |
| 59°F | 9 days |
| 68°F | 8 days |
| 77°F | 6 days |
When to plant peas
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Enter your frost date on the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates. Peas can go in the day the soil can be worked.
| Direct sow | 8 weeks before to 2 weeks after your last frost |
|---|---|
| Days to maturity | about 65 days |
How I grow them, in brief
The trellis goes up first, before a seed is in the ground; mine is two long branches for uprights, two short ones lashed across with jute, and jute string wound between the bars, free and ten minutes. Peas go in as soon as I can work the soil, weeks before the last frost, coated in inoculant so they fix their own nitrogen. Eight to ten per square, both sides of the strings. Then the one rule that matters: pick every day. Pods left on the vine tell the plant it is finished, and picking keeps it flowering for weeks. The five steps are in How to Grow Peas.
Where I get seed
Wood Prairie’s organic peas include Sugar Ann snap, the one I grow, plus Green Arrow shelling and Golden Sweet snow peas. Code PMG5 takes 5 percent off.
Quick questions
When do I plant peas?
As soon as the soil can be worked in spring, weeks before the last frost. They germinate at 40°F soil.
How many pea plants do I need?
Two or three squares along a trellis feed a family through the spring picking season.
Let the planner place them
Plan My Garden is free to start: draw your beds, pick peas and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at the right spacing and gives you a planting schedule for your zip code.
Related: Square Foot Gardening Chart · How to Grow Peas · Seed Starting Calendar
