How to Grow Peas in the USA
On this page
Peas are a cool-season crop and will germinate once soil temperatures reach just 50°F (10°C), so they can be sown outdoors while the soil is still cool in early spring.
The short answer
- Ready in
- 55–112 days
- Site
- 6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6–6.5
- Biggest risk
- Powdery mildew
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Pea (Pisum sativum)
Also known as: Green Pea, English Pea, Field Pea · 12 sources cited · Verified
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 6 - 6.5 |
| Sunlight | 6-6 hours direct sun |
| Germination temp | 50°F (10°C) |
| Optimal growing temp | 50-75°F (10-24°C) |
| Minimum survivable temp | 28°F (-2°C) |
| Time to harvest | 55-112 days |
| Drainage | RHS: well-drained soil with plenty of garden compost or well-rotted manure -- at least two bucketfuls per square metre/yard. Clemson: plant in full sun to ensure maximum flavour and sugar content. |
| Lifecycle | annual |
| Edible parts | pods, peas, pea shoots |
| Documented problems | 3 diseases, 5 pests |
At a Glance
Diseases
Pests
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment | 0 | Sow peas direct where they are to grow, about 5cm (2in) deep and 7.5cm (3in) apart, once the soil is at least 10°C (50°F) -- typically March to June, with early sowings from February to March under cloches or started in pots, guttering or root-trainers indoors (RHS). Set tall varieties in double rows about 30cm (1ft) apart and dwarf types in a wide flat drill; leave a gap the height of the variety between row sets. Smooth, round-seeded types are the hardiest and suit the earliest and autumn sowings; wrinkled types are sweeter but only for spring and summer (RHS). Peas dislike waterlogged ground, so choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil enriched with garden compost, and protect newly sown seed and seedlings from mice, birds and slugs while putting supports in early (RHS, Clemson). |
| Vegetative Growth | 3 | Seedlings climb by clinging tendrils, so give them support as soon as they are a few centimetres tall -- twiggy pea sticks for dwarf types, or netting and chicken wire on canes for taller varieties (RHS). As a legume, pea roots fix their own nitrogen with soil bacteria, so they need little or no feeding; too much nitrogen produces leafy plants with few pods (Clemson). Keep the row weed-free and water in dry spells, but heavy watering is not needed until flowering. Hardy round-seeded types sown in late autumn or under cloches overwinter as small plants for an early crop (RHS). |
| Flowering | 6 | White (sometimes pink or purple) flowers appear from late spring and are largely self-pollinating, so each flower can set a pod without insect help (RHS). Watering matters most now: give a good soak once plants start to flower and again about two weeks later, as this is what fills the pods (RHS). Water the soil rather than the foliage to reduce mildew. The flowering-to-podding period is also when pea moth females lay eggs, so early and late sowings that flower outside the mid-summer peak often escape the worst damage (RHS). |
| Pod Development | 7 | Fertilised flowers form flat pods that swell as the peas develop inside. Keep plants evenly watered so pods fill well and do not toughen. This is the stage pea moth caterpillars attack -- eggs laid at flowering hatch and bore into pods to feed on the developing peas, so protect vulnerable sowings with insect-proof mesh over the flowering period (RHS). Watch too for pea and bean weevil notching leaf edges and, in dry summers, for powdery mildew whitening the foliage (RHS). |
| Ripening / Harvest | 8 | Pick shelling peas when the pods are well filled but still bright green, and pick mangetout and sugar snap types young, at about 7.5cm (3in) long just as the peas begin to swell (RHS). Harvest from the bottom of the plant upward every one to three days -- regular picking keeps plants cropping (Clemson). First early varieties are ready about 12 weeks from sowing, second earlies 13 to 14 weeks and maincrops 14 to 16 weeks (RHS). Peas are sweetest eaten straight away, as their sugars turn to starch within hours; refrigerate for only two to three days, or freeze a glut (Clemson). |
| End of Crop | 9 | Once a row finishes cropping, cut the plants off at soil level and leave the roots in the ground -- the nitrogen-rich nodules break down and feed the following crop, one of the main benefits of growing legumes (Clemson). Compost the tops unless they are badly mildewed. Sow short successional batches every few weeks and mix early and maincrop types so the harvest runs from early summer into autumn; avoid growing peas in the same ground more often than about one year in three, to reduce soil-borne problems (RHS). |
Harvest & Storage
Peas, Sowing to Harvest
Plan your Peas planting
When to sow and plant Peas depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Peas: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Pea in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
These 3 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 12 sources behind this guide (Clemson Cooperative Extension, FAO EcoCrop, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and others) is in the references of our UK guide to peas; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do peas take to grow?
Typically 55–112 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do peas need?
A pH of about 6–6.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect peas?
Our data links 3 diseases and 5 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.
Get the USA Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-08-06
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.