How to Grow Snap Peas in Raised Beds

Prepare soil that is in full sun with a 5-10-10 fertilizer. Put up a 6-foot tall trellis - snap peas grow anywhere between 4 to 6 feet tall. They also grow tendrils that will grip the trellis for support. Inoculate the seeds by moistening them in a shallow dish, and then sprinkle a small amount of the powder on them.

Plant the seeds in mid-April. Poke a hole in the soil with your finger about 1 1/2 inches deep. Drop the seed in the hole and firmly pat the soil over it. Plant the seeds two feet apart along the trellis, and immediately water the peas thoroughly. They require a lot of water, so do not allow them to dry out very much. Water them from below by setting the hose down to saturate the soil. this helps prevent fungus from developing on moist leaves and stems.

Get rid of aphids by spraying them with mild soapy water. Use slug bait to get rid of slugs, or pick them off by hand when you see them. If you see that your snap peas are stunted and the leaves appear mottled, they may have mosaic, a virus that is spread by aphids. The way to avoid this is to prevent aphids from infesting the plants. If the plants are stunted with yellow leaves, they may have fungus called fusarium wilt. The only thing you can do in this situation is to pull up all the infected plants and burn them to prevent the fungus from spreading to healthy plants.

Harvest the peas in 55 to 80 days from planting. You can sow a second crop of snap peas at the beginning of July, and harvest them in the fall.