Crispy, crunchy and a star ingredient in salads, stir-fries and pasta, snowpeas make a delicious and nutritious addition to any vegie patch. However, they can be quite expensive to buy at the supermarket. Luckily, these tender and crisp pea pods are easy to grow, even for beginners.
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How to grow snow peas
Aspect
A position in the full sun.
Climate
Suitable Aussie climates include warm and cool temperate, arid/semi-arid, subtropical, and tropical. This cool-season vegie is best grown in the cooler months. But don’t risk frosty climates as frost can damage the seedlings and impact developing pods. Avoid the warmer months as well as snow peas are not heat tolerant and will stop producing.
Soil
Snow peas will happily grow in well-drained soil that has been enriched with plenty of organic matter and compost.
Water
Water regularly and make sure the soil is kept moist.
Fertiliser
As snow peas are legumes, thus produce their own nitrogen, they don’t require excess amounts of fertiliser. A well-composted organic matter like aged manure when planting is usually enough. However, you can add some organic fertiliser if your heart desires.
Mulch
Add handfuls of mulch to help conserve soil moisture while also suppressing weed growth.
Pests
Powdery mildew can sometimes be a problem if growing your snow peas in wet or humid conditions. To avoid the fungal disease, it’s best practice to not overcrowd the seeds when planting and avoid overhead watering.
Maintenance
For young plants, use stakes at the end of the row and run wires or string between them. Surprisingly, you most likely won’t need to support dwarf forms of the plant.
Types of snow peas
There are two forms of snow peas: tall (indeterminate) and dwarf (determinate). The tall variety has vines that grow up to 2m that require staking, whereas dwarf forms don’t require a trellis and are great for small spaces.
How to propagate snow peas
Now that you’ve mastered the art of growing snow peas at home, why not do it all again the following year? Save the seeds from the previous year and repeat the planting process. All you need to do is, leave some seed pods to fully mature, dry and turn brown on the vine before picking them. Then remove the peas, store them in a cool, dark, dry place and save them for next time.
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