Planting Field Pea (Cover Crop)
Field Pea (Cover Crop) is a cool season vegetable in the Fabaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
You can sow Field Pea (Cover Crop) directly into the garden 2–4 weeks before your last frost.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Field Pea (Cover Crop) room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 2 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 8 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 9 |
| Planting depth | 1.5 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Days to Maturity
Field Pea (Cover Crop) reaches maturity in 60–80 days from sowing.
Field Pea (Cover Crop) is ready to harvest after about 70 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.
Conditions and Care
As a cool-season vegetable, Field Pea (Cover Crop) does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Field Pea (Cover Crop) needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 1.5 inches deep, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Field Pea (Cover Crop) belongs to the Fabaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Field Pea (Cover Crop) is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Companion Plants
Pairing Field Pea (Cover Crop) with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.
Growing Notes
Nitrogen-fixing cover crop; often mixed with oats.