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How to support peas in the garden


How To Trellis Peas In Your Garden (EASY Guide)

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Growing peas vertically is fun, easy, and a great way to save space in the garden. In this post, I will show you exactly how to trellis peas, and give you tons of great support ideas too.


If you’ve ever grown climbing peas in your garden before, you know that the vines can become unruly pretty quickly.

Not only that, but allowing them to sprawl along the ground can lead to issues with disease, fungus, and pests.

 

Trellising peas solves off of these problems, makes them easier to pick, and it looks great too! If you’ve never tried vertical gardening before, this is one of best ways to get started.

In this detailed guide, I will tell you all about how to trellis peas. Including the benefits, different varieties to try, trellis ideas, and how to figure out if they even need a support.

Table of Contents

Do You Need A Trellis For Peas?

The short answer is no, you do not always need a trellis for peas. There are (very broadly) two different types: bush and vining.

The reason it’s important to understand the difference is that vining plants will climb, and bush varieties will not.

So, you won’t need a trellis for bush peas. But if you have vining ones, then it’s best to give them a support to climb on.

Always check the seed packet or plant tag so you know what you’re getting. If you want to grow them vertically, then be sure to get the vining types rather than bush.

Trellising peas using simple wire cages

How Do Peas Grow On A Trellis?

Peas grow on a trellis by sending out side shoots, called tendrils, that vine out from the main stem. Those tendrils will wrap around anything they touch.

They are usually pretty good climbers on their own. But you will probably need to train them to attach themselves to the support. Otherwise, they can grab onto nearby fences, plants, or even mulch instead of the trellis.

Why Should You Trellis Peas?

There are many benefits to trellising peas. Not only does it look beautiful, but giving them something to climb on will give you more space in your garden.

Training them also keeps them from latching on to other plants or items you don’t want them climbing, keeping your beds looking tidier.

It’s also healthier for the plant, and allows for better airflow around the leaves. More airflow can prevent mildew and disease issues.

Getting the vines up off the ground also makes it easier to protect them from ground-dwelling pests like rabbits or slugs.

Another benefit of growing peas vertically is that it makes them simple to harvest, since the pods will hang down.

Peas growing on a trellis

Best Peas To Grow Vertically

The most common types are English (aka shelling), snow, and snap. You may have also heard of sweet peas.

But sweet peas are not edible, they’re just decorative and prized for their pretty, sweet smelling flowers. However, they can be grown vertically too.

The edible climbing varieties I like the best include Oregon Giant, Sugar Daddy, and Tendersweet.

Climbing peas support made with chicken wire

Pea Trellis Ideas

Pea vines are super lightweight, so you don’t need a heavy-duty trellis to support them. But you will definitely need to think about the height.

Some kinds get taller than others. The heights of the full grown plants usually ranges between 3-6 feet tall.

So be sure you choose the right sized structure for them, one that is proportionate to the size of the specific variety. Here are some pea trellis ideas to help get you started.

Check out my easy pea arch trellis DIY project if you want to make your own using my design.

Climbing peas growing vertically

How To Grow Peas On A Trellis

Like I said above, peas naturally want to grow on a trellis, and they are pretty good climbers on their own.

But the vines will likely need to be trained a bit so that they will grab onto the support you provide for them, rather than nearby plants.

To train them, carefully tuck the vines into the support as they get taller. They are very delicate and will break easily when mishandled, so be extremely gentle with them.

They also grow very quickly, and it can be difficult to weave the delicate vines into the trellis without breaking them.

So, it’s usually safer to tie them to your structure using twine, metal twist ties, or flexible plant ties.

Just be sure to tie them on very loosely, otherwise they can strangle the vines, or break them as they get taller and thicker. Learn more about how to train vines here.

It’s easy to trellis peas, and a great garden space-saver. Not only do they look beautiful, but growing peas vertically helps keep them healthier and happier too.

If you want to learn all about vertical vegetable gardening, then you need my new book, Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects That Deliver More Yield In Less Space! This book is specifically dedicated to growing food vertically, plus it has nearly two dozen beautiful step-by-step projects that you can build on your own! Order your copy today!

Learn more even about my Vertical Vegetables book here.

More Information About Vertical Gardening

Share your tips for how to trellis peas in the comments section below.

12 Functional DIY Pea Trellis Ideas

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DIY Pea Trellis Ideas are functional and easy to make and can improve the productivity of your peas.

Whether you plant peas on the ground or in containers, they need support to grow productively. You can use stakes and trellises or repurpose spare tomato cages for this purpose.

Also Read: How to Grow Peas in Pots

But spending money to buy a lot of trellises isn’t a frugal affair. The better option is to learn how to make a trellis for peas. These DIY Pea Trellis Ideas in this list can help you in that.

1. Recycled Peas Trellis

Create a cheap and sturdy trellis for growing peas using recycled materials. Use three 2*4 wooden boards, twine, nails, hardware, and this tutorial.

2. Peas Trellis Basics

Read this informative article to know the type of trellis that will be suitable for your garden space. Trellis will help you grow peas without letting them rot or get harm by any ground pests.

3. Bamboo Pea Trellis

This DIY pea trellis is easy to make and can be completed quickly. All you need for this pea trellis idea is a spool of garden twine and 4 pieces of bamboo. Find the directions at Graden Therapy.

4. Hula Hoop Pea Trellis

Use hula hoops in your garden to grow peas or any other vining vegetables in less space. Watch this tutorial by HGTV to know more.

5. Raised Bed Pea Trellis

Modify your raised bed to make this sturdy trellis for peas and cucumbers. This project requires a bit of DIY skill and supplies. Check out the step by step article here.

Also Read: DIY Cucumber Trellis Ideas

6. Wire Fence Trellis

Roll out wire fencing with a height of 30 inches and connect the sides to each other using zip ties. This is a simple way to increase your vegetable garden in a small area. See the steps here.

Also Read: Frugal Gardening Tricks

7. Woven Bamboo Trellis

You’ll need bamboo sticks to create this well built sturdy trellis, no hardware required. A helpful DIY for beginner gardeners! Check it out here.

8. Pea Arch Trellis

Peas are one of the best vine vegetables to grow using the vertical gardening technique. Not only it requires less space but is a fun project for your garden. You need wire fencing, hardware, and this tutorial to complete this DIY.

9. Mini Trellis

If you wish to grow peas in a container, follow this idea to create a mini trellis for your planter pot. Ideal for those with limited to no space.

10. Crutches Trellis

Upcycle spare crutches into making this pea trellis for your vegetable garden. Funny at first but a brilliant idea altogether. Get inspiration here.

11. Trellis for Peas

This descriptive article will clear all your doubts about a trellis in the garden. You’ll get an idea of what type of peas needs support and which trellis structure is the choice for your peas type.

12. Best Trellis

Choose which type of trellis is best for growing peas or any other vegetable vines you want to grow. Click here to know more.

Bonus Pea Trellis Idea

13. PVC Pipe Trellis

One of the easiest DIY pea trellis ideas to try–explained well in this short YouTube tutorial.

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What to tie peas to: 5 options from what is at hand

If you are still in self-isolation, and you need to tie up peas in the near future, try to get by with simple solutions that will not force you to leave your dacha. Our selection is just about that.

In principle, most of the vegetable plants that need to be tied can be tied to such supports. The bottom line is that in this case, no complex structures need to be erected from the materials at hand. And for legumes, they will help create excellent conditions.

Peas and other plants related to it must be tied up not only so that they fit compactly in the garden among other crops, but also are less susceptible to diseases and pests.

Wooden stakes or bars

As a rule, there are a lot of different pieces of wood in the country house. And if there are no ready-made stakes, then you can make them from old trees or cuttings of unnecessary tools - shovels, braids, and so on. In terms of installation, stakes are certainly more convenient than beams due to the fact that they are easier to place in the ground due to the pointed end.

Tree branches

You have recently been pruning your garden and of course you still have branches from the renewed trees. Choose those that haven't dried out enough to break under the weight of legumes. And then everything, as in the case of stakes. By the way, for faster fixation in the ground near the branches, it is better to sharpen one of the ends.

Rods

Are all strong branches used up and some plants are still without supports? If you also have rods from the same trees, which until recently were thin branches, try to build a simple structure from them. To do this, stick two rods into the ground, placing them near neighboring leguminous plants, and then firmly fasten them together at the top. The rods must necessarily be much higher than the plants that are tied to them: this is necessary so that the peas still have room to grow.

The best option is to first build such a structure, and then sow pea seeds on its inside.
The distance between the bars in a row should be about 1 m, and between the rows - 0.5 m. If you do everything as in the photo, you get a long hut.

Fittings

Do not rush to throw away the old fence, consisting of rebar and chain-link mesh. Metal rods are another good option for gartering legumes, in particular peas. On them, the plant will "crawl" up so successfully that even the garter stage itself can sometimes be skipped if it is firmly attached. By the way, as in the case of wooden stakes or bars.

Netting or twine trellis

So the second part of the unsightly chain-link fence came in handy. Part of the plants can be tied to it. The second option is to wrap the plant between weaving the net. Or maybe you changed your mind about changing the fence and decided to decorate it with legumes. Then we have some more interesting ideas on how to successfully disguise an old fence.

You can read about all the intricacies of tying peas and other climbing plants to supports made of different materials in our other article.

Supports for peas: sticks, trellis, pegs

The most productive varieties of peas are tall, but to get a rich harvest it is not enough just to plant peas. It is important to create good conditions for the growth of this plant. Namely, to build supports for which the peas will cling and climb up. In this 2020 year, we decided to plant a variety of peas, the Miracle of Kelvedon, and its height is more than a meter, so we were also puzzled by the construction of the support.

Pegs for peas

tall sticks and peas just crawl over them. It does not look very aesthetically pleasing, but it has the right to exist - the peas are given at least some kind of support. If this is not done, the plants will intertwine with each other, forming impassable jungles, moreover, they will not grow to the height inherent in the variety and, accordingly, the yield will be less.
Most often, stakes are driven in along the edges of the pea bed and a mesh with a large mesh is stretched between them. Such nets are now sold in any garden and garden store.

Also, gardeners often build supports in the form of a wigwam, only for the entire length of the bed. For its construction, long sticks, reeds, reeds, etc. are used. .

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Do-it-yourself support for peas


We propose to make a convenient support for peas, which does not have to be disassembled and assembled every season, besides, it is convenient because it can be transferred from one bed to another - that's all we know that it is not desirable to grow a certain crop in the same place all the time, crop rotation is needed.
This design can be either metal or wood. It is made to the width of the beds. The height is up to you, but usually 1.5-1.8 meters are made so that it is possible to harvest. Fastening for the lower and upper straps, twine, rope or wire is pulled, as in the photo. As a result, we get a convenient, portable trellis for peas.

This support is also perfect for growing curly beans and, if upgraded a bit, also for cucumbers.

Such a handmade support will justify the time spent on its manufacture with an annual high yield. In addition, it is comfortable and aesthetic.

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A convenient way to tie peas, video

If you have your own interesting ways of tying peas, or designs of supports, please post them in the comments. We think it will be interesting to our readers.

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