Grow more peas, please

Peas are annuals and will need to be replanted each year. In cooler temperate areas of Australia, peas can almost be grown year-round, but they are easiest to grow when sown in autumn to winter, around April to June. In hotter climates, maximise your harvest by planting in the cooler and drier seasons, around May to July.

Where to plant

Being a fruiting plant, peas need a fair amount of sunlight to produce a good harvest. Vines should be planted in your sunniest winter spot. In areas that are too shady, yields can be disappointing and plants can succumb to mildew before you harvest many pods at all.

Peas can be planted in a variety of ways to save space and maximise yields.

Try a trellis

For the taller varieties, our preferred method is to grow them on wire-mesh sheeting, which runs along the southern side of our raised vegie bed and is supported by tall bamboo stakes. Planting vertically not only maximises growing space but enables peas to soak up the precious winter sunlight.

This method creates a mysterious ‘wall of peas’ that also provides convenient access at harvest time. You can simply walk along the other side of the wall and fill your baskets with all of the ripe peas and snow peas you find. Importantly, planting on the southern side of the bed means that your wall of peas will not shade out any other crops in that vegie bed.

Along a fence

If you have a sunny north-facing fence line, you can also put up reo-mesh and plant your peas along the fence, which naturally provides support for the lanky vines.

Arches

Training climbing peas up arches also makes an attractive garden feature when they are in full bloom. However, you will need to plant on both ends of the arch to create a full display. Peas also look great adorning a simple teepee made of tall bamboo poles or tree branches.

Containers

For shady yards or balcony gardens, the good news is peas are shallow-rooted plants and thrive in grow bags or pots. You can easily move these around the garden (made easier with the use of pot trolleys with wheels) to chase the sun. For container growing, use a bush variety that requires minimal support – just a few short bamboo stakes will do the trick.

For more more expert growing tips, get a copy of our Early Winter 2025 issue (OG 157), available here.

Want to learn more about snow peas?

Snow peas