Peas are annual, cool-season vegetables in the bean family (Fabaceae), native to Eurasia and most often grown for their edible seeds or seed pods. There are many cultivars and varieties. Peas grow best in full sun and moist, well-drained soil. They can tolerate a range of soil textures so long as there is good drainage and a pH range of six to eight. While they can tolerate partial shade, they need full sun to properly develop flowers and set fruit. Peas stop growing at temperatures above 85 degrees F. In many parts of North Carolina, this leaves a very small growing window. Plant seeds directly in the soil as soon as the ground has thawed; young plants have some frost resistance. Handle seeds gently as they damage easily and will be less likely to germinate. Seeds should be planted 1 inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart. Peas can also be grown in containers of a minimum size of two gallons and a depth of 12 inches. The plants often reach the harvest stage in 60 days. Plantings can be staged a week apart for a longer harvest season. Peas come in tall, vining varieties that grow peas throughout the season and shorter bush varieties that set a determinate crop all at once. Vining varieties are best grown on a trellis such as stakes and twine or a metal fence in order to minimize disease. Other varieties differ in seed and pod shape. Garden peas grow round, starchy seeds and fibrous pods. Snow pea pods are harvested with barely-grown seeds, and sugar snap peas have juicy green-bean like pods and almost-full seeds. Plant peas in a children’s or edible garden. Peas also feed the soil by fixing nitrogen; certain varieties can be used as a cool-season cover crop for this reason, often under the name Austrian winter pea. Click here to see a calendar of planting schedules, time-to-harvest, and recommended spacing. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems : Seeds can rot or seedlings damp off if planted too early in cold, wet soil. Cutworms and aphids can be a problem, severing young shoots and spreading disease respectively, though the latter does not usually affect pods. Powdery Mildew can occur in hot weather and affect both leaves and pods. Root rot and fusarium wilt are common ailments that can cause roots and plants to wilt and die. Look for resistant varieties. VIDEO Created by Homegrown featuring Bill Lord , former Area Specialized Agent for NC State Extension More information on Lathyrus .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Climbing
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Waxy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Pinnately compound leaves in pairs of 1-4, tendrils at the tip. It also has large stipules up to 4 in long that hug the stems.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Edible
Flower form
Raceme; Solitary
Flower shape
Irregular
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
1-3 white, pink, or purple flowers on axillary racemes. Each flower has an irregular, distinctly pea-shaped look and ranges from 1.5-3.5cm in size (just under or over an inch). Flowers can self-pollinate.
Bloom time
Fall; Spring
Fruit color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Dehiscent pods on short pedicels each containing multiple seeds. Seeds may be smooth or wrinkled and come in green, yellow, grey, white, or brown when mature.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Eurasia
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit; Flowers; Seeds; Shoots
Harvest time
Fall; Spring
Fruit type
Legume
Edibility
Seeds, pods, flowers, and shoots can all be eaten raw, stir-fried, or cooked. Pods and seeds vary in size and edibility with variety as well as harvesting times; they are roughly divided into shelling peas (garden peas) that are harvested when the seeds are almost or completely mature and edible pod peas (snow peas and sugar snap peas) that are harvested when the pods and seeds are young and not fully mature. Garden peas are best used immediately after picking as their sweetness quickly degrades or left to dry for long-term storage. Edible-pod varieties can last in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Harvest every few days. The flowers and young shoot tips (top 6 in) can also be harvested and eaten.