2 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Planting Peas in the Heat of Summer for your Fall Vegetable Garden

Peas are cool weather crops but should be started in the summer (when hot) for a wonderful fall crop of garden peas. Pea stems, tendrils, and leaves can take a frost during the night and remain undamaged. However, pea flowers and pods can be damaged from frost. When peas are planted in the spring, the chances of frost is usually around while the stems, tendrils, and leaves form and grow. When the chance of frost is gone, the flower and pods are usually forming. That is what makes peas a wonder cool season crop. There are 2 common mistakes both new and experienced gardeners make when growing peas from the summer into the fall.

Mistake One: Frost Arrives Before Peapods Fully Mature

The ‘days to harvest’ on a seed package is a guideline. It usually means when a plant just begins producing. With peas, you want to add another 2-3 weeks, of frost free time, to that date as the harvesting period of peapods. Many gardeners look at a 70 day to maturity pea variety, as an example, and don’t take into account a harvest period of time.  As the pods begin to form, the frost arrives, damages the flower and pods, and they have beautiful pea plants but little harvest. 

What does that mean?

I planted my shelling peas on August 2nd in my garden and they have a ‘days to harvest’ of 75. That means from germination the peas should begin producing (or forming) around 75 days later. My average first heavy frost date is around October 31st.  That gives me about 90 days of time for my plants to grow and produce. The extra 2 weeks is my peapod harvesting period. Most people use the ‘days to harvest’ right up to their average frost date and forget about a harvesting period.

In the summer we are going from no frost to frost and, unlike spring to fall, the flowers and pods are arriving when frost is arriving. They often collide. You have to allow a period of time for an extended harvest. You may have noticed my math is not exact as the ‘days to harvest’ is a guideline. And with the warmth of summer, seeds germinate faster and plants mature more quickly. That is a good thing, but summer heat for peas can be a problem.

Mistake Two: Pea Plants are Left to Bake in the Summer Sun

Peas generally like cool days in the 60’s and lower 70’s and night in the upper 50’s. They are cool weather crops. Soil temperature is as important, if not more important, than ambient temperature. Most plants get signals through their roots on how to grow based on soil temperature. When we talk about soil temperature we are talking about the top 4-6 inches.  The summer sun can bake and raise the top 2 inches of soil over 100 degrees. This can inhibit seed germination in some cases, it can literally cook newly germinating seeds, and it can kill off seedling. The baking sun is often overlooked.

Shade cloth is the answer for peas, as well as other summer planted cool crops. I recommend using a 50%-70% shade cloth over your pea plants. 70% means 70% of the sun is blocked. This can cool the top several inches of soil by 20 degrees. Peas do quite will with 80 degree soil temperature. They will establish and grow quickly and be ready for the cooling fall temperatures of September. 

Here is a link to my secure Amazon Shop https://www.amazon.com/shop/garypilarchiktherustedgarden for examples of shade cloth. They come in all different shapes and sizes and I do recommend getting cloth with grommets. They are reinforced holes to help you hang your cloth. 

In my YouTube video I demonstrate a basic way to hang shade cloth. You can raise and lower it based on the time of day and heat of the summer day. Generally speaking, shade cloth can be left up but I do like dropping it for the leave to get some full sun when it is the morning or late afternoon.

It is also important to water your new planted pea seeds and seedlings 3 or 4 times a week. And remember the soil can heat up over 100 degrees, which can prevent seeds from germinating, kill off germinated seeds, and even kill of seedlings. Once the plants are a couple inches tall, mulching will help keep the soil temperature cooler and help maintain soil moisture.

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“A Garden Wants to Give”

Cheers!

Gary (The Rusted Garden)