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(Best months for planting Peas in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 65-80 days
• Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 24°C.
• Space plants: 5-8cm

Peas are best grown in cooler seasons. Peas need some support when growing, tree prunings with lots of small twigs are a cheap and handy source. Or else strings between posts or wire netting. the peas need tying in the early stages, until they start producing tendrils and clinging to the support.

Some pea varieties are called 'dwarf' but to make harvesting easier it is a good idea to support the plants.

Pick pea pods while young and pick them often to keep them producing.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Peas

Raw straight from the pod in the garden is best!
Raw in salads.
Steamed lightly.
Small pods can be steamed whole.

Your comments and tips

16 May 09 steve (Australia - temperate climate)

peas turning white what to do also leaves on cabbage getting eaten any ideas

20 May 09 David (Australia - temperate climate)

Steve: turning white? leaves? this is a mold/fungus. Too much moisture, not enough sun, plants too close together are the usual cause. Sometimes spaying with milk slows down the spread. Cabbage leaves- check for caterpillars, cabbage white butterfly is really bad this year in Sydney. Pick the leaves clean then set up netting.

02 Jun 09 Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

The white is powdery mildew - they seem very susceptible even when spaced out. I've found Eco-Rose is a good organic spray that works much better than milk, and it doesn't affect the beneficial insects. If you local garden shop doesn't have it you can buy it online from Eco Organic Garden www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

13 Jun 09 Colin (Australia - temperate climate)

I've just had to re-sow my peas, the last lot rotted in the soil. It seems they were too wet for too long. I've placed clear plastic (disposable) drinking cups over the new seeds to keep them warm and dry. They should emrtge soon.

28 Jun 09 Lisa (Australia - temperate climate)

What are the best type of peas to grow just west of Melbourne?

04 Jul 09 Kym (Australia - temperate climate)

I have trouble with rust (I think - black spots on the leaves) with sugersnap peas and snowpeas. Anyone know how best to treat this? Also, does anyone know of a sugarsnap that germinates well? I'm lucky if i get 30% germination on the Adelaide plains.

31 Jul 09 David (Australia - temperate climate)

Kym. do you pre-soak your peas? Get an old jar put 50mm of tepid water in it, throw in the peas leave overnight, drain the next morning and repeat morning and night til the radical root appears (about 3-5 days). Then pot them 2 or 3 to a 100mm pot, keep in a warm (not too hot or cold) spot and in 7 days you should get 80+% germination. I got 99 out of 100 Blue Bantams doing it this way (BTW these are now 1.7m tall not too bad considering these are "dwarfs")

01 Aug 09 Liz (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi Kym. I'm in Adelaide and planted my Sugarsnaps straight into the ground just a couple of weeks ago. My ground is quite damp after all the rain, but I look to have had about 90% success rate with seeds from The Lost Seed. www.thelostseed.com.au I have had good results with most of their seeds and I am a newcomer to Adelaide.

02 Aug 09 Sam (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi, I am still a novice gardener, and new to vegetable gardening, but have had great success with Chilli, Mint, Parsley, Basil, Chives, Oregano, Rosemary, Shallots, Tomatoes and Leeks. I have a 1m by 2m spare garden plot that faces North East, but our house blocks the sunlight and the area only manages to get about an hour or two of filtered sunlight a day about 2pm-3.30pm depending on the season (winter now). Are there any vegetables that don't need much sunlight to grow well? I like Potatoes if that's an option... It's such a shame to have a spare fertile area (worms and all!!) go to waste. Any thoughts or comments will be much appreciated. Thanks, Sam

10 Nov 09 Barb (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I'm in Tassie where it's been wet and freezing all winter. It's only just warming up now - is it too late to sow some peas?