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Garden Pea
Pisum sativum
A rite of spring — sweeter picked at dawn and eaten raw at the plot.
Sun
Full sun to light shade
Water
Regular
Soil
Well-drained, pH 6.0–7.5
Spacing
5 cm apart, double rows
Days to harvest
55–70 days
Hardiness
Zones 3–9
Seasonal Calendar
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Sow Harvest
The method
- 1
Sow direct
Sow 3 cm deep, 5 cm apart in double rows 20 cm wide.
- 2
Support with twigs
Push in pea-sticks or netting when seedlings are 10 cm tall.
- 3
Water at flowering
Dry spells at flowering wreck the crop.
- 4
Pick every 2 days
Pods left on the vine tell the plant to stop producing.
Common problems
Pea moth
Cover flowering plants with fine mesh; or sow very early / late to dodge it.
Mice eating seeds
Start indoors in guttering and slide out when established.
Good neighbors
CarrotRadishCucumber
Field tips
- “Mangetout are done in weeks and don't need shelling — great for kids.”
- “Pinch off tender pea shoots for salads.”