Peas are first garden vegetables to go in the ground
Peas thrive in the cool, damp weather that spring provides. As soon as the soil temperature is between 40 and 45 degrees and it is dry enough, so it doesn't clump or stick to your shovel when you dig, it is time to plant.
It's always a good idea to mix in generous amounts of organic matter before planting to improve the texture and aeration of the soil. Peas don't require a lot of fertilizer, but a bit of starter fertilizer is warranted in poor soil.
Decide what kind of pea to plant. There are three types. English peas (also known as shelling or garden peas) are grown for the peas inside. They are best eaten the same day they are picked and shelled, before their sweet sugars turn to starch. I love to eat them right out of the pod in the garden as I pick them. They are sweet as candy.
Some of the most common varieties of shelling peas include Burpeeana, Green Arrow and Little Marvel. They grow about 24 inches tall. Garden Sweet and Mr. Big are vining types that grow 3 feet.
Snow peas are eaten, pod and all. They are harvested when the peas inside are very small. Picked when they are very young, they are ready to be eaten as is; picked more mature, a string attached to the seam, must be removed.
Popular varieties of snow peas include Oregon and Oregon Sugar Pod II. They are both bush types.
Snap peas combine the best qualities of the other types. The peas are large and sweet, and their pods are edible. There are stringy and stringless varieties. While stringless varieties can be eaten without removing the strings, their seeds take more time to germinate and their plants don't handle heat as well.
Examples of stringy snap peas are Sugar Snap and Super Sugar Snap; Sweet Ann and Sugar Prince are stringless cultivars.
Whether they are garden peas, snow peas or snap peas, bush (or dwarf) types tend to produce all their peas at once; vining varieties produce peas over an extended period. Many bush types may not need staking; vining varieties almost always need support.
Plant pea seeds about an inch deep. Plant them 2 inches apart in rows spaced 6 to 8 inches so they can support each other as they grow. Or provide trellising and space rows father apart — up to 18 inches — to allow more space for pea picking. Thin seedlings as they emerge, keeping the strongest plants and 3 to 4 inches between them.
Some garden center centers may offer pea seedlings. Plant these at the same depth they were growing in their pots and space them 4 to 5 inches apart.
Insert supports — stakes and string, twiggy branches or purchased trellises — when plants are very small, and their tendrils will curl around them as they grow upward. Keep the soil slightly moist until seedlings emerge. Remove the weeds and add a layer of mulch to the planting area, keeping it pulled back from stems. Supplemental water from the hose is required if Mother Nature doesn't supply at least an inch each week once plants are established. Watering is especially important when pods are forming.
Seedlings don't mind frost while they are growing, but plants may need protection if a late frost is predicted while plants are flowering.
If your green thumbs have been itching to get back into the soil, scratch them by planting peas.
• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.