How to Grow Snap Peas
Snap peas, also known as sugar snap peas, are relatively easy to grow. They can feature in your dishes in a variety of ways: Boiled, steamed or even eaten raw. Here’s how to grow your own crop of snap peas.
Materials
Snap pea seeds
Hammer or mallet
Wooden stakes
Chicken wire or heavy twine
Bean and pea inoculate
Row cover
Procedure
The best time to plant snap peas is during spring and fall seasons. This means you have to start planting either on early spring or late summer.
snap peas
Look for a place to plant your snap peas. Snap peas like shade, but they prefer full sun that will last six to eight hours.
Build a pea trellis where the vines will climb on. Do this by hammering wooden stakes at the edges of where you will put up your plot. Tie heavy twine or chicken wire between the two stakes from top to bottom. You don’t have to make it perfect, just stable enough to support the growing snap pea vines.
Start turning the soil a week before planting the snap pea seeds. You can also start adding a bean and pea inoculate to encourage growth and high yield.
Plant each snap pea at least three inches apart. Plant them half an inch deep into the ground to prevent birds and wildlife from digging them up. (Tips on how to get rid of birds)
Prepare row covers to protect your snap peas from late freezes in the season. If you don’t have row covers, lightweight blankets will do just as well. Hard freezes can kill snap peas.
Once the snap pea seedlings are tall enough to reach the twine or the chicken wire, you can guide them to grow correctly. Gently and tenderly take the tendrils and wrap them around the twine. This may have to be repeated in the following days, but you can stop as soon as the trellis begins climbing on its own.
You can harvest sugar snap peas when they are two inches long. They’re best enjoyed freshly-harvested from the garden!