Growing Sugar Snap Peas - Tips on How to Grow Sugar Snap Peas

There are few vegetables that are as loved as sugar snap peas. The kids may disappear all spring when it’s time to work in the garden, but when it’s time to harvest the sugar snap peas, you’ll have all the help you need, and you’ll be lucky to get some sugar snap peas in the house, as they don’t need to be shelled to be eaten, and taste great uncooked. And, growing sugar snap peas is not hard, so here are a few tips on how to grow sugar snap peas to get you going.

Like most peas, sugar snaps are a cool weather crop. The best time for planting is early, 2-4 weeks before the last frost date, or alternatively 6-8 weeks before the first frost date in the fall.

You need to decide which variety you are planting, as the original Sugar Snaps are a vine, growing to 6ft tall at times, and definitely need some type of support, even if it’s a large tomato cage or a trellis. The bush varieties like Sugar Daddy and Sugar Ann can be grown without support, and will tend to mature more quickly, but the harvest is shorter in time and overall less productive per square foot of garden.
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Sugar Snap Snap Pea $2.25 Store: Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co. Sugar Sprint Snap Peas $2.45 Store: Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Co. Snap Peas, Sugar Ann $2.25 Store: Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Co. Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea $1.95 Store: Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co. Dwarf Grey Sugar Peas 1lb $1.80 Store: MasterGardening.com Organic Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Pea $2.95 Store: Gardens Alive! Super Sugar Snap Peas $2.95 Store: Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Co. Sugar Lace II Snap Pea $2.95 Store: Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co.

When peas are planted in a new garden, you might increase yields by inoculating with nitrogen-fixing bacteria you may find at most garden stores. In an established garden, this is probably unnecessary. Because peas fix nitrogen in the soil, they need a fertilizer with little nitrogen. They don’t need a lot of fertilizer. A single application of a slow release or organic fertilizer at planting time will suffice.

Plant the seeds 1/2 to 1 inch down, about 1.5-2 inches apart. These peas can be planted in rows, or they work well in more intensive techniques like wide row or raised garden beds as well. Water requirement is about 1 inch a week.

Unlike regular snap peas that are often harvested before the peas mature and are eaten mainly as flat pods, sugar sanps are allowed to develop peas in the pod. Harvest the Sugar Snaps when the seeds in the pod are plump, but don’t let them go too long. Snap peas that have gone past maturity will become starchy in taste and don’t taste nearly as good as those in their prime. Pick them and store them or freeze them quickly, as the sugars will be turned to starch if they are left on the vine or even stored at room temperature.