Planting Snap Peas
Snap Peas 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 Snap Peas directly into the garden 2–4 weeks before your last frost.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Snap Peas room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 2 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 18 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 4 |
| Planting depth | 1 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Plan a square-foot bed with Snap Peas →
Calculate plants in a bed for Snap Peas →
Days to Maturity
Snap Peas reaches maturity in 60–70 days from sowing. Once ready, plants continue producing for approximately 21 days.
For a continuous harvest, sow a new batch every 14 days. Use the succession planting scheduler →
Snap Peas is ready to harvest after about 65 days. Picking regularly over the roughly 21-day harvest window keeps plants productive and encourages a longer pick. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.
Conditions and Care
As a cool-season vegetable, Snap Peas 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.
Snap Peas needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 1 inch deep, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Snap Peas 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. Because it matures relatively quickly, Snap Peas rewards succession sowing: small, repeated plantings keep a steady supply coming rather than one short glut.
See Snap Peas in the full planting calendar for your ZIP →
Plan crop rotation for Fabaceae →
Companion Plants
Pairing Snap Peas with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.
Grows well with: Carrots, Radish, Spinach
Check Snap Peas with other crops in your garden →
Related Crops
Other crops you might grow alongside or instead of Snap Peas.
In the same family
Snap Peas is in the Fabaceae family. Other Fabaceae crops in the Gardenable database:
Documented companions
These crops are listed as good growing partners for Snap Peas:
Similar growing requirements
Crops with similar season and time to maturity — useful if you want a diverse garden on a similar schedule: