Peas, Snow Peas, Snap Peas
All grouped together peas are a relatively easy plant to grow, they should be grown vertically and allowed to climb as that’s what they like to do.
Regular peas (the ones you take out of the pods, only grow a foot or two and a string trellis equally to the plant spacing is a great method to grow them, although time consuming to construct.
There are taller varieties of snap and snow peas (eat the pods) that are great for growing along fences or up a trellis. I even use them for privacy hedges as they grow so fast and a 2-3 m high offer some nice edible privacy.
I like to plant functional and edible gardens and features. One plant I use quite often for privacy fencing and yard dividers are the Snap peas. Not the small regular snap peas, the Super Sugar Snap Pea which will grow six or more feet. Grown along a simple snow fence trellis, along occurring fencing or even up anything they can get a hold of.
Peas are planted as soon as the soil is workable, although the extra heat of garden boxes may be needed for earlier germination. They grow very fast with minimal supervision and will readily climb whatever their tendrils can grab onto. Peas are slightly frost resistant, have a 40 to 60 day to maturity growth and will provide a moderate supply of yummy edible pea pods. Great for a snack, stir fry and salads.
A simple trellis is made of a frame with a four-foot-tall snow fence as attached to the frame. It can be whatever length you want. If you have a four-foot garden box, add a four foot by four-foot trellis to the north side. Or use the trellis to shade lettuce and other cooler plants. The snow fence I get is a green snow fence which comes in 50-foot rolls which are four feet tall for around $50. One roll will make a lot of trellises.
Make a long ten-foot-long trellis as a privacy screen for your yard, fire pit or other areas in your yard. Peas planted along the base in rows of two spaced a couple of inches apart along the length of the trellis will make for a high, living and edible privacy fence.
Preservation
Freezing in vacuum sealed bags. All varieties freeze well.
Days to Grow: 40 to 60
Spacing: 8 per square foot
Effort: Minimal
Plant: As soon as soil is not frozen
Yield: Moderate
Will survive light frost
Gardening Shortcut Links
- North Hardy Plants to grow
- Pre-designed garden layouts
- Gardening Basics and Resources
- Seeds available at shop:
Frost Dates and growing season
Converting a garden box to a mini greenhouse
Making a Garden Box
Planting Calculator
Garden Designer - Excel
Square Foot Gardening Primer
Growing Vertical - Trellises
The plants listed here are available at the physical shop located with the Nipigon River Bait Shop at 21 Second Street in Nipigon Ontario. Limited quantities are available, and all seeds are fresh and have been tested to grow here in NW Ontario.
- Pollock Tomatoes
- Cylindra Beets
- Butterwax beans
- Super sugar Snap Peas
- York Rutabaga
- Laurentian Rutabaga
- Purple Prince turnip
- Buttercup squash
- Spaghetti squash
- Warted green hubbard Squash
- Baby Blue Hubbard Squash
- Endeavor Squash
- Early butternut Squash
- Atlantic Giant Pumpkins
- Tromboncino Squash
- Russian Mammoth Sunflowers
- Carrots: Nantes
- Asian Green stirfry mix
North Hardy Plants
Square Foot Gardening
Information and resources for square foot gardening here in NW Ontario.
Excel Garden Planner
An excel worksheet I developed to help plan and track my square foot gardening.
North Hardy Plants
Not all plants will grow here, but a lot will.
Useful Resources
The following are additional resources and information as well as basic information for growing this and many other garden plants here in NW Ontario.
Square Foot Gardening Basics
Preserving methods
High productivity, small area
About Garden Planning
Laying out your garden and pre-planning what to plant is best accomplished over the winter months. It gives you escape from the north winds, allows for ordering of seeds and allows you to put some time and effort into laying out your garden.
Since I use the square foot gardening method, I have created a garden planner using Microsoft excel. It allows you layout your garden using the cells in excel, then based on what plants you choose it will calculate planting/harvest times, potential yields, how many seeds you will need and more.
The Garden planner is provided as is, I can and will answer questions on using it and I have made videos on using it. I am hoping to have a full updated version ready for 2019 planning season.
