Pea Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Support | Pests | Companions | Varieties | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Peas:

• Plant as early as soil can be worked (March 20+ in SE Michigan) – peas love cool weather!
• Direct seed only – peas don’t transplant well due to their delicate root system.
• Plant seeds 1-2 inches deep, 2 inches apart in double rows 6 inches apart.
• Space double rows 2-3 feet apart with support structure in between.
• Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours) preferred, tolerates partial shade.
• Soil Type: Well-drained soil with pH 6.0-7.5.
• Soil Amendment: Light compost only – peas fix their own nitrogen!

Pro tip: Inoculate seeds with rhizobia bacteria for better nitrogen fixation and 50% higher yields!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Minimum 40°F soil. Optimal 45-60°F. Bolt above 85°F.

• Planting: Seeds germinate at soil temperatures as low as 40°F.
• Optimal growth: 55-70°F air temperature.
• Peas can tolerate light frosts and even snow after emergence.
• Production stops when temperatures exceed 80°F.
• Plant fall crops 8-10 weeks before first frost for second harvest.

Michigan’s cool springs are perfect for peas – they’re often the first crop planted!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during flowering and pod development.
• Watering: 1 inch weekly – avoid overhead watering to prevent disease.
• Mulch: Apply 2 inches after plants are 4 inches tall to keep roots cool.
• Fertilizer: Usually unnecessary – peas fix nitrogen from the air.
• Weeding: Keep weed-free when young – mature peas shade out weeds.

📏 Harvest Signs:

Garden peas when plump. Snap when full-sized. Snow when flat.

• Garden (shelling) peas: Pods bright green and plump, peas visible through pod.
• Snap peas: Pods fully developed but still crisp and sweet.
• Snow peas: Pods flat with tiny peas just beginning to form.
• Check daily once flowering begins – peas mature quickly!
• Lower pods mature first – harvest from bottom up.

Morning harvest provides the sweetest peas with highest sugar content!

🧺 Harvesting:

Use both hands – one to hold stem, one to pick. Harvest every 2-3 days for continuous production.

• Pick carefully to avoid damaging delicate vines.
• Regular harvesting encourages more pod production.
• Harvest in morning when pods are crisp and sugar content highest.
• Use immediately or cool quickly – peas lose sweetness rapidly.
• Don’t pull vines when done – cut at soil level to leave nitrogen-fixing roots.

🪜 Support:

Bush varieties: 2-3 feet tall, minimal support. Climbing varieties: 4-6 feet, need strong support.

• Install supports at planting time – adding later damages roots.
• Options: Bamboo teepees, wire mesh, wooden trellises, or string supports.
• Pea tendrils naturally grasp supports – no tying needed.
• Double rows can support each other with netting between.
• Bush types benefit from short twiggy branches for support.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Pea aphids, pea weevil, cutworms, powdery mildew.

• Pea aphids: Small green insects on growing tips – blast off with water.
• Pea weevil: Notches in leaves – rarely serious, plants outgrow damage.
• Cutworms: Cut seedlings at soil level – use collar barriers.
• Powdery mildew: White coating on leaves late season – choose resistant varieties.
• Root rot: In wet soils – ensure good drainage.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Good with carrots, radishes, lettuce, spinach.

• Avoid onions, potatoes.
• Peas fix nitrogen that benefits following crops.
• Radishes mark pea rows and mature before peas need space.
• Lettuce and spinach grow well in peas’ partial shade.
• Carrots can be planted between pea rows.
• Avoid alliums (onions, garlic) which inhibit growth.

🌿 Varieties:

Spring: ‘Alaska’, ‘Green Arrow’. Snap: ‘Sugar Ann’. Snow: ‘Oregon Giant’.

• ‘Alaska’: 55 days, earliest variety, 2 feet tall, smooth seeds for cold soil.
• ‘Green Arrow’: 68 days, heavy yields, 28 inches tall, long pods.
• ‘Sugar Ann’: 52 days, early snap pea, 2 feet tall, AAS winner.
• ‘Sugar Snap’: 70 days, original snap pea, 6 feet tall, very sweet.
• ‘Oregon Giant’: 70 days, huge snow pea pods, disease resistant.

🫙 Preservation:

Freeze blanched 1.5-2 minutes. Dry for split peas. Pressure can.

• Freezing: Shell, blanch 1.5-2 minutes, cool quickly, freeze in portions.
• Fresh storage: Keep pods in perforated bags 3-5 days maximum.
• Drying: Let pods mature and dry on vine for soup peas.
• Pressure canning: Only safe method – never water bath can.
• Snow/snap peas: Freeze whole after blanching 2-3 minutes.

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Fresh pea salad, pea soup, stir-fried snow peas, pea shoots.

• Fresh peas with mint and butter – classic spring side dish.
• Pea shoot salad – harvest growing tips for gourmet greens.
• Sugar snap pea stir-fry with garlic and ginger.
• Traditional split pea soup from dried peas.
• Pea hummus – bright green spring alternative!

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Plant St. Patrick’s Day weekend if soil isn’t frozen.
• Use row covers for earliest plantings.
• Fall peas often have fewer pest problems.
• Plant every 2 weeks through April for extended harvest.
• Michigan’s cool, wet springs perfect for peas.
• Second crop in August extends season into fall.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Mendel used peas for his groundbreaking genetics experiments.
• Thomas Jefferson grew 30+ pea varieties at Monticello.
• Peas add 20-25 pounds of nitrogen per acre to soil.
• Fresh peas have been found in Egyptian tombs.
• Only 5% of peas grown are sold fresh – 95% are frozen or canned.
• Canada is the world’s largest producer of peas.
• Peas have more protein per serving than a tablespoon of peanut butter!
• The record for eating peas is 7,175 peas one by one in 60 minutes using chopsticks