Vegetable / Cool season
Sugar Snap Peas
Sweet pods worth building a tall trellis for
Plant out byMar 23zone 6
- Family
- Legume (Fabaceae)
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ h)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Days to harvest
- 60-70 days
- Spacing
- 2 in apart, rows 36 in
- Pot size
- 5 gal pot (fine in pots)
- Frost
- Half-hardy
- Start
- Direct sow
- Water
When to plant
Showing .
Averages for a typical garden in the region. Your local frost dates may differ by 2-3 weeks, check a local source.Too late this year (try fall)
In zone 6, sow or plant outdoors Mar 9 to Mar 23; sow again for fall Aug 11 to Aug 25. Average last frost Apr 20, first fall frost Oct 20.
Units
Sugar snaps grow taller than the seed packet photo suggests. Full-size vines like the original 'Sugar Snap' reach about 5 feet. They need a sturdy trellis around 6 feet high, in place within three weeks of sowing. Put it up on planting day. Once the tendrils start grabbing at each other, building support around them turns into a tangled mess.
Timing is the other half. Sow straight into the bed 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost, as soon as the soil can be worked. In cold soil the seeds can take two weeks to show, but the young plants shrug off light frost. What they cannot handle is heat. Once summer warms up, the vines yellow, mildew coats the leaves and the pods go starchy. An early start buys you more weeks of picking.
The pods are eaten whole, so pick them plump and round, when the peas inside have filled out but the pod still snaps clean. Check every day or two at peak season. Hold the vine with one hand and pull the pod with the other, since a yank can tear the stem. Most kids eat them straight off the trellis, and few pods make it to the kitchen in our house. For a balcony, pick a dwarf type such as 'Sugar Ann' and a pot with a short trellis.
Things to consider
- Many snap varieties grow a tough string along the seam. Pull it off from the stem end before cooking, or grow a stringless type to skip that step. Snapping the stem end and pulling down the seam takes the string off in one move.
- Fruition Seeds suggests sowing a compact and a full-size variety on the same early date. The dwarf ones bear first and the tall ones take over, stretching the harvest to about six weeks.
- A fall crop is possible, sown 8 to 10 weeks before the first frost, but late summer heat makes it hit or miss. Dwarf varieties tend to handle fall better than tall ones. Count back from your first frost using the days on the packet, plus a few extra for shorter days.
Good neighbours
Keep apart
Pests to watch for
AphidsPea weevils
Questions about growing sugar snap peas
How tall should a sugar snap trellis be?
About 6 feet for full-size vines, which commonly reach 5 feet. Dwarf types get by with 2 to 3 feet of netting or twiggy brush. Make it sturdy either way, since a loaded vine gets heavy after rain. Set the posts deep, because a full trellis catches wind like a sail.
Should I thin sugar snap seedlings?
Fruition Seeds says no. Sow seeds 1 to 1.5 inches apart and about an inch deep, then let them grow as a dense hedge along the trellis. The vines lean on each other as they climb. Seeds sprout in about 10 days at 75 degrees F and closer to 15 days at 45 degrees F.
Can sugar snap peas grow in a pot?
Yes, with a compact variety and some support. Use a wide pot with drainage holes, and keep it out of reflected afternoon heat on a hot balcony. Expect a smaller harvest than a bed row gives. Water often once the pods start to fill, since pots dry out quickly.
Save this crop
Pin it to a garden board so it is there when planting time comes round.
Similar crops
Sources
General guidance for home gardens. Frost dates are averages for a zone or region; check a local source (in the US your county extension office) for local timing.