Grow Your Own Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar snap peas are a combination of snow peas and field peas (like the kind you might have grown up eating). Turns out, a farmer actually bred them that way not all that long ago. He wanted the mange tout quality of snow peas (which basically just means you can eat the whole pod) but the sweetness of field peas. Thus, sugar snap peas were born.

There are many varieties of sugar snap peas you can grow.

When to Grow Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar snap peas are members of the Fabaceae, or bean, family and are best grown in cooler weather. In warmer places like Houston, that means the ideal sugar snap pea growing season is the winter (October through March). In the Chicago area, I can grow them in the spring and fall. When temperatures warm, the plants will experience stress and their leaves will turn brown.

They have a relatively short growing season—about 6 to 8 weeks.

They like full sun, but in hotter climates, some afternoon shade is appreciated.

How Many Sugar Snap Pea Pods Should Each Plant Produce?

According to my research, you should expect to get about a fourth of a pound of peas per plant per week. That means you probably need to grow several plants in order to get a good weekly harvest, something equivalent to what you’d bring home from the grocery store. If you want to get one pound per week of peas from week 8 to week 12 in their growing cycle, you need at least four plants. 

I have a confession to make: some seasons, I'm a little too relaxed in the garden and don't give plants the attention I normally would. I realized this was the case when my sugar snap pea plants weren't producing anywhere near a forth of a pound each.

Fortunately, there are four things you can do if you have some unproductive vines like mine to amp up your production.

Number 1: Support Your Peas on a Trellis

Climbing varieties can reach 6 to 8 feet and require the support of a trellis. While sugar snap peas do have tendrils that latch onto the trellis and help them grow vertically, they welcome a little more reinforcement. Tendrils that can't find their next rung on the support structure to cling to will stop growing. Only those vines that feel securely attached will keep producing more peas.

You can encourage your plant to feel secure and therefore produce more pods with nothing more than some twine and a pair of scissors. The twine should be pretty fine so as not to tear the fragile sugar snap pea tendrils.

How to Tie Your Sugar Snap Peas to a Trellis

The idea is to use the twine to extend the trellis so the sugar snap peas can find something to grab onto sooner. String the twine along the bottom of the trellis, about an inch or two below the top of the tallest pea shoot. Tie it pretty tightly so there's good tension on the twine. Continue tying rows of twine up the trellis about every 2 to 3 inches. This way, the pea shoots can grab onto both the trellis and the twine.

Number 2: Side-Dress Your Pea Plants with Compost Every Week

You don’t want your peas to have too much nitrogen in the soil because then you’ll get lots of leaves and not enough peas. Just add some good organic compost over the roots of your pea plants regularly to encourage them to produce more peas. 

Number 3: Pinch off the Ends of Your Pea Vines 

If you want more flowers and more fruit, pinch off vines at any juncture so that the vine will split into two vines. 

Number 4: Keep Your Pea Vines Picked 

Harvest frequently to encourage your plant to keep producing for you. Harvest your sugar snap peas when the pods are still green and tender. The peas inside the pods should just be starting to swell. Snap off the ends of the pods and remove any strings. Enjoy!

Growing Sugar Snap Peas Should Be a Snap

I hope these four tending tasks help you get more pod production.

Peas out!