Are you growing sweet peas in your garden? Also known as sugar snap and English peas, these babes are one of the easiest plants to grow. They’re also one of the MOST delicious! And did I mention beautiful? Look at this bloom…

Sweet Peas

It’s elegance in nature. I refer to sweet peas as garden snacks, because they’re generally consumed while I’m in the garden. I mean, you’re outside, the sun is shining, the sweet pea pods are bursting. And you can eat all you want. Peas are low in calories, but high on nutrition. Who can resist?

Easy to Grow

Not me. They really are “sweet” to the taste, too. And because they’re so easy to grow, I end up with a TON of them. The one caveat to “easy-to-grow” is that they require support for climbing. These gals can reach six feet in height and without they support, they will crawl across the ground, tangle, and become fairly unappealing to harvest. No one wants to eat dirt-embedded peas. Yuck.

I use a combination of twine and bamboo sticks. I also tie the vines to the twine, else they succumb to a brisk wind landing on the ground in a muddled heap. Which happens a lot during Florida’s winter and springtime.

They’re an excellent varietal for crop rotation, too, peas “fix” nitrogen into the soil, replenishing it a bit for the next crop. Legumes of all kinds will do the same, so consider them a valuable resource in your garden layout.