{"id":12376,"date":"2020-05-18T05:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T19:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardens.theownerbuildernetwork.co\/?p=12376"},"modified":"2025-10-30T21:13:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:13:06","slug":"how-to-grow-snow-peas-in-your-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/2020\/05\/18\/how-to-grow-snow-peas-in-your-backyard\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Grow Snow Peas in Your Backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you live in a cooler climate and think you can\u2019t grow vegetables, guess again. There is a reason why snow peas are called such. They can actually survive and produce an abundance of edible pods in cold weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snow peas are tender and tasty. They are excellent for eating fresh or as an addition to stir fry dishes or salad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snow
Snow peas can survive and produce an abundance of pods in cold weather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Growing Snow Peas from Seeds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, you can plant snow peas 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost date, when soil temperatures reach at least 7\u00b0C. Because snow peas do not transplant well, experts recommend sowing seeds directly onto your garden instead of starting them indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to grow snow peas in your backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting Snow Pea Seeds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Select a spot that receives around 6 hours of sun a day. The plants will not need full sun. In fact, if need be, they will survive on as little as 4 hours of sunlight each day. However, snow peas are prone to rot in soggy soil so avoid planting in wet weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare the bed by working well-matured compost<\/a> and sulfate of potash into the soil. Snow peas thrive in soil that is slightly acidic to neutral. Ideally, the soil should have a pH of 6 to 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"If
If need be, snow peas will survive on as little as 4 hours of sunlight each day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the pH of the soil in your backyard is too low, amend with a handful of lime or dolomite for each square meter of planting area. If the pH is too high, simply add more compost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To plant snow pea seeds, loosen the soil to a depth of around 12 inches using a garden fork. Establish a trellis or some other climbing structure on the plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant the seeds 1 to 1\u00bd inches deep in the soil, making sure that they are at least one inch apart along each row.  Allow around 18 to 24 inches of space between rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water the seeds once after planting. Do not water again until the seeds germinate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snow
Snow peas require a trellis or stake to climb. (Photo: Snowmentality\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Caring for Snow Pea Plants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Snow peas are a low-maintenance crop. You should only begin regular weekly watering when the shoots are about 2 to 4 inches tall. Spread a layer of straw or chopped leaves over the soil. This will keep the plot moist and cool and keep weeds at bay. Keep adding mulch as the plants grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If weeds do manage to invade your plot, carefully pick them off by hand. Be sure you do not disturb the root structures of your plants when you pull out the weeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snow
Snow peas are a low-maintenance crop. (Photo: Kolforn\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once your snow pea plants establish themselves and begin to grow, guide them onto the trellis or climbing structure with twigs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plants will need more water once they produce flowers, especially if the weather is starting to get warmer. You can allow around 2 inches of water each week at this stage. Pods will start to form after the flowers begin dying back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The plants will need more water once they produce flowers, especially if the weather is starting to get warmer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting Snow Peas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Different snow pea varieties mature at different rates, but your plant will start to sprout pods anywhere from 30 to 70 days after planting. Consult the seed package for more exact harvest times. In general, however, you can start harvesting while the pods are young and tender and just starting to fill out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more you harvest, the more pods the plant will produce. To harvest pods, hold the vine gently with one hand and pinch the pod off the vine with the other. Do not tug on the vine or it may snap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pods that remain on the vine will become tougher and harder. The peas inside will become full and plump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want the peas more than the pods, leave the pods on the vine and wait for them to become full. Harvest the pods once the peas are sufficiently plump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a reason why snow peas are called such. They can actually survive and produce an abundance of edible pods in cold weather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13557,"featured_media":12383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Grow abundant snow peas in cold weather with our simple backyard guide. Learn why they thrive in frost and start harvesting crisp pods fast!","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sma_last_campaign_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[387,385,384],"class_list":["post-12376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vegetables","tag-cold-hardy-vegetables","tag-peas","tag-snow-peas"],"modified_by":"Freddie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}