How to Grow Peas: When to Plant Peas in Every US Region

Updated October 2026

Peas are a sweet, fast cool-season crop for the home garden, from the warm Gulf states through to the cold north, as long as you catch the cool window.

Few crops reward a gardener faster than a row of peas picked straight from the vine. Shelling peas give you sweet round seeds, snow peas give flat tender pods for the wok, and snap peas give plump crunchy pods you eat whole. All three grow the same way and all three want the same thing: cool weather.

Peas are firmly a cool-season crop. They germinate and grow best in mild conditions and stop setting pods once the days turn hot. That makes the timing very different depending on where you live. In Florida and the warm Gulf states you grow peas through fall and winter. In temperate zones you sow in early spring, and in the cold north you sow the moment the ground thaws.

Sow seed directly where it is to grow, because peas resent root disturbance. Give them something to climb, keep the soil evenly moist, and pick often. Get the season right and peas are one of the easiest, most generous things you can grow.

What it looks like as it grows

🌱 Plant profile: Peas, with sowing times for your region, companion plants and common pests.

When to Plant Peas in Your Region

Peas are a cool-season crop that stops flowering in heat. The North and the Mountain West sow in spring and again in midsummer for a fall crop, and the Mid-Atlantic and the Southern Plains sow in early spring and again from August. Florida, the Gulf South, the low desert and Southern California sow in fall and winter, with the exact months in the table. These are the planting months for each of our 18 regions, with each region's frost window. Each region links to its full vegetable planting calendar, and the Peas plant page shows the calendar for any region you pick.

North Florida and the Gulf South plant peas in January and February, and September and October. The Mid-Atlantic and the Southern Plains plant peas in February to April and August to October. The Midwest and the Mountain West plant peas in April and May, and July to September.

Position and Soil

Give peas full sun and a rich, well-drained soil with plenty of compost worked in. They like even moisture but hate waterlogged roots, so improve drainage in heavy ground and never let them sit wet. A soil pH around 6.0 to 7.0 suits them well. Like all legumes, peas fix their own nitrogen, so they need very little feeding. Skip heavy nitrogen fertilizer, which gives you leaves instead of pods.

Sowing

Sow seed directly about 1 to 1.25 inches deep, because peas dislike being transplanted. The key to a long harvest is succession: sow a fresh short row every 2 to 3 weeks through your cool-season window rather than one big planting that crops all at once. In Florida and the Gulf that window runs through fall and winter, in temperate zones through early spring, and in the cold north from the moment the soil can be worked.

Spacing

• In the row: about 1 inch apart, thinning is rarely needed.
• Between rows: 18 to 24 inches apart, or a double row either side of a single trellis.
• Containers: peas grow well in a pot 10 inches or more across with a trellis or netting for support.

Watering and Feeding

Keep the soil evenly moist, especially as the plants flower and fill their pods. In warm Florida weather that can mean watering deeply every couple of days. Water at the roots in the morning so the foliage dries quickly, which limits mildew. Feeding is minimal: a compost-rich bed is usually all peas need, and they return nitrogen to the soil for the crop that follows.

Common Problems

Watch for aphids and pea weevil on the plants. In humid regions, powdery mildew, pea rust and fusarium wilt can take hold, so space plants for airflow, water at the roots in the morning, and choose disease-resistant varieties where you can. Birds and slugs go after young seedlings, so protect new sowings until they are established. Rotating where you grow peas each year helps keep soil diseases down.

Harvest

Most peas are ready in about 60 to 70 days. Pick shelling peas when the pods are well filled but still bright and tender. Pick snow peas young and flat, before the seeds swell. Pick snap peas when the pods are plump and crisp. Harvest every couple of days: the more you pick, the more the plant produces. Peas are sweetest eaten soon after picking, so harvest in the cool of the morning.

Varieties for the US Garden

Peas at a glance

The planting figures for peas from our plant data, converted to inches and Fahrenheit.

Sowing peas

Sow peas directly next to a trellis or netting, because they dislike being transplanted. Our plant data puts the seed about 1 1/4 inches deep and about 4 inches apart, with a soil temperature range of 50 to 72°F and about 10 days to emerge. Peas are frost hardy in our data, so they can go in before the last spring frost. Water consistently while the plants flower and pod, keep water off the leaves, and skip heavy nitrogen feeding, because peas fix their own.

Growing peas in containers

Peas grow in a container at least 10 inches across, with a trellis for the tendrils to climb. See how to grow peas in pots.

How long do peas take to grow?

Our plant data allows about 75 days from sowing to harvest. Pick shelling peas when the pods are plump and the peas show, before they harden, and snap the pods off while holding the vine with your other hand. Daily picking keeps the plants podding.

Frequently Asked Questions

See also: Peas in the plant library →

Related guides

Source: UF/IFAS Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (SP 103); UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions; Southern Exposure Seed Exchange; Johnny's Selected Seeds variety notes.