🥕 Garden Pea
Pisum sativum
vegetables legume
☀️ Sun
Full sun (6–8 hours); tolerates partial shade
💧 Water
Medium; 1 inch per week; consistent moisture crucial during flowering and pod fill; mulch to keep roots cool
🗺️ Zones
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
🪴 Soil Type
Well-drained, moisture-retentive loam with good organic matter; less fussy than beans about fertility
🧪 Soil pH
6.0–7.5 (slightly acidic to slightly alkaline)
💧 Drainage
Well-drained but moisture-retentive; does NOT tolerate waterlogged soil
📏 Spacing
Seeds 1–2 inches apart in rows 18–24 inches apart; thin to 2–3 inches; provide trellis for climbing varieties (3–6 ft)
📅 Days to Maturity
55-70 days (from seed); snap peas 55-65, shelling peas 60-70 days
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ ["Seeds (fresh shelling peas)"🍽️ "Pods (snow peas🍽️ snap peas \u2014 whole pod eaten)"🍽️ "Young shoots/tendrils (pea shoots \u2014 gourmet salad green)"]
🤝 Companions (8)
Peas fix nitrogen that carrots need; carrots aerate soil for pea roots; different root depths prevent competition
Radishes break soil crust for emerging pea seedlings; harvested before peas need full space; repels cucumber beetles
🤝 Corn
Peas fix nitrogen for corn; corn provides a windbreak — peas are cold-tolerant and can be planted earlier
Peas provide partial shade for spinach (delaying bolting in warm weather); spinach acts as living mulch; different root zones
Peas fix nitrogen for cucumbers; peas grow vertically on trellises and can share support with early cucumbers
🤝 Mint
Repels pea moth and aphids; improves pea flavor (plant mint in containers to control spread)
Potatoes benefit from the nitrogen peas fix in the soil; peas are harvested before potatoes need full space. Recommended by WVU Extension as a potato companion.
Corn can provide light support for peas in some intercropping systems; the corn-pea combination is a cool-season variant of the Three Sisters. Listed by WVU Extension.
⚠️ Keep Apart (2)
⚠️ Alliums (onion, garlic, shallot)
Inhibit nitrogen-fixing bacteria; stunt pea growth; one of the strongest antagonisms documented in companion planting
⚠️ Gladiolus
Gladiolus may harbor thrips that damage pea flowers and pods
💊 Medicinal Uses
["Good source of plant protein with a complete amino acid profile for a legume", "High in fiber, vitamins C, K, and B vitamins (especially folate)", "Contains lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health", "Traditional Chinese medicine: pea sprouts used as a cooling, detoxifying food"]
📝 Notes
Peas are a cool-season crop — plant 4–6 weeks before last frost. They stop producing when temperatures exceed 75°F. Inoculate seeds with Rhizobium for best nitrogen fixation. Snow peas and snap peas are the same species — just different cultivars with edible pods. Pea shoots (young tendrils) are a high-value crop for market gardeners.