How to Grow Peas on a Trellis

Overview

Peas are an easy crop to grow for any vegetable gardener, whether you want to have a simple backyard garden or a large-scale field of growing pods. Depending on the types of peas you grow, you can have good salad toppers, canning peas or a stash of peas in your freezer. One way to support your growing pea plants is to grow peas on a trellis. With vertical reaching plants, you can plant more peas in less space than if you let them sprawl along the ground.

Step 1

Determine where you want to grow your peas in the garden. This should be an area of full sun with easy access for watering and soil soft enough for you to push stakes into.

Step 2

Set up your trellis by staking a trellis support into the ground and attaching the trellis to it. While peas seem simple, they can become quite heavy as the pods begin to fill, so good support you don't have to adjust during the season is best.

Step 3

Plant your seeds according to the spacing requirements of your package, usually 2 inches apart, and water well. It can take a few weeks of watering and waiting before your seedlings will need the trellis.

Step 4

Look for the first tendrils of the pea seedlings and carefully loop them around your string or wire trellis. Some of the plants will resist holding to the trellis in favor of flopping over. If possible, allow the tendrils to loop onto a sister plant which is holding onto the trellis.

Step 5

Continue to help the pea plants find the trellis as they grow taller and form more tendrils higher up. Any plants that are attached to another plant should be first priority to get attached to the trellis as soon as possible.

Step 6

Pinch back the tops of the pea plants if they are becoming taller than your trellis. If left unchecked, a group of oversized peas can pull down an undersized trellis.