Last Updated on September 12, 2026
How to Grow Peas: 5 Steps for a Continuous Supply (and a Free Trellis)
Peas are one of the first things in the ground in spring and one of the easiest crops to grow. The difference between a handful of pods and a bowl every day comes down to five things.
1. Put the trellis up before you plant
Peas climb with tendrils, so give them something to grab before the seed goes in. Mine cost nothing: two long branches from the woods for the uprights, two short ones for a top bar and a lower bar, lashed with garden jute, then jute string wound up and down between the bars. Ten minutes, no tools. I prefer string to the square plastic mesh you can buy because the tendrils grab it more easily.
2. Plant early
Peas are a cool-weather crop and germinate in cool soil. I plant as soon as the soil can be worked in spring. By the time the tomatoes and peppers are going out, my peas are already producing. Sugar Ann snap peas are the variety I have used.
3. Inoculate the seed
Like beans, peas partner with soil bacteria to fix nitrogen from the air into their roots. Coating the seed with an inoculant before planting puts that bacteria right where the roots will form, and the plants grow noticeably more vigorously. A packet is cheap and treats a lot of seed.
4. Plant densely
Plant on both sides of the trellis. In one square foot I put eight to ten peas. They do not mind the crowd, and a dense planting is what turns a trellis into a wall of pods.
5. Harvest every day
This is the step most people miss. Pods left on the vine tell the plant it is done, and production slows. Pick daily, even if it is only a few pods, and the plants keep flowering and keep producing. Snap peas are ready when the pods are plump and still snap cleanly.
Free trellis, step by step
- Two long straight branches, pushed into the bed as uprights.
- Two shorter branches lashed across as a top bar and a lower bar, tied with jute.
- Wind jute string up and down between the two bars, a few inches apart.
Items mentioned
Related: Square Foot Gardening Chart (peas per square foot) · How to Build a String Trellis · 10 Crops You Can Direct Sow Before Your Last Frost
