How to Grow Peas in New Zealand: When to Plant and Harvest

Updated October 2026

Peas are the taste of a New Zealand winter and spring garden. Sweet straight off the vine, they reward you for months if you sow little and often, and like beans they fix nitrogen at their roots to feed the crop that follows.

The key to peas here is that they are a cool-season crop. They germinate and crop best in the cooler half of the year and sulk or run to mildew in summer heat. Get the timing right for your region and they are one of the most forgiving things you can grow.

There are three kinds to know. Shelling peas for the round peas inside, snow peas for flat tender pods eaten whole, and sugar snaps for plump sweet pods eaten whole. They all grow the same way.

What it looks like as it grows

🌱 Plant profile: Peas, with sowing times for your region, companion plants and common pests.

Succession sowing planner

Pick your climate and pea type to see your sowing window, spacing and support, plus how to keep peas coming all season.

Your climate Warm north (Northland, Auckland, Waikato, BoP) Temperate (Central North Island, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough) Cool south (Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Central Otago)

Pea type Shelling (garden peas) Snow peas (flat pods) Sugar snap (plump pods)

Plan my sowings

When to Plant Peas in Your Region

Peas are a cool-season crop, sown in autumn and spring in the north and in spring in the south. These are the sowing months for each region from our planting data. Each region links to its vegetable planting calendar, and the Peas plant page has spacing, companions and care notes for your region.

From Northland down to Nelson and Marlborough, including the Central North Island, peas have two sowing windows: autumn, from March to May, and late winter into early spring, in August and September. Our data leaves out June and July. Pea seed rots in cold, wet soil, so midwinter is the riskiest time to sow. The south sows in spring only. Canterbury sows from August to November, because frost spoils the flowers and pods of autumn sowings there. Otago and Southland sow from September to December, where cool summers suit peas well, and Central Otago sows from September to November so the crop is picked before the midsummer heat. For the average frost dates in your area, see our New Zealand frost dates.

Position and Soil

Give peas a sunny, open spot with good airflow, which helps fend off powdery mildew. They like a free-draining soil with plenty of compost and a near-neutral pH around 6.0 to 7.0. A little lime before sowing suits them on acid soils. Avoid heavy fresh nitrogen, which gives leafy plants and few pods.

Sowing

Sow direct where the plants will grow, as peas resent transplanting. Push seed about 3cm deep into cool, moist soil. They will not germinate well in hot soil, so hold off through high summer. Birds love newly sown peas, so cover the row with netting until the seedlings are up and climbing.

Peas From Seed or Seedlings

Peas are best grown from seed sown straight into the bed. They dislike root disturbance from transplanting, so seed sown where the plants will grow usually does better than punnet seedlings. Our plant data puts emergence at about 10 days in soil between 10 and 22°C.

If you do buy seedlings, plant them out within your region's sowing months, ease them out of the punnet with as much soil around the roots as possible, and water them in well.

How to sow peas, step by step

1. Put the trellis, netting or twiggy sticks in first, unless you are growing a dwarf or semi-leafless type such as Novella.
2. Sow the seed direct about 3 cm deep and 5 cm apart along the support, and firm the soil over it.
3. Water it in, then keep the soil just moist rather than wet until the seedlings appear, because pea seed rots in cold, wet soil.
4. Cover the row with netting until the seedlings are up and climbing, as birds love newly sown peas.
5. Guide the first tendrils onto the support, and keep the soil evenly moist once flowering starts.
6. Sow a fresh short row every two to three weeks through your window for a steady supply.

Spacing

Sow seed about 5cm apart in the row, with rows 45 to 60cm apart. A double row either side of a central support uses space well. Tall and climbing types need a 1.5 to 2m trellis, netting or twiggy sticks. Dwarf and semi-leafless types are largely self-supporting but still crop better leaning on a low frame.

Watering and Feeding

Keep the soil evenly moist, especially once flowering and pod-fill begin, but avoid waterlogging cold soil, which causes root rot. Water at the base in the morning to keep leaves dry and mildew at bay. Peas feed themselves with nitrogen, so a side dressing of compost is plenty.

Common Problems

Watch for aphids on shoot tips, slugs on seedlings, and birds stripping young rows. Yellowing, wilting plants usually mean cold, soggy soil and root rot, so improve drainage. A white dusty coating is powdery mildew, common late in the season, so sow earlier and give plants airflow. See our NZ pest and disease guide for organic control.

Harvest

Pick often, every couple of days, to keep the plants flowering. Pick shelling peas when the pods are well filled but still bright and tender, snow peas while the pods are flat and the peas barely visible, and sugar snaps when plump and crisp. Most types are ready 9 to 11 weeks from sowing. At the end, cut the plants off at ground level and leave the roots to feed the soil.

How to pick peas

Hold the vine with one hand and snap the pod off with the other. Pick shelling peas when the pods are plump and the peas show but before they harden. Daily picking at the peak of the season keeps the plants podding. Fresh peas keep in their pods in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can blanch and freeze them for months.

How Long Do Peas Take to Grow?

Our plant data allows about 75 days from sowing to the first picking, just under 11 weeks, and the varieties table below runs from about 65 days for quicker types to about 75 days for main-season peas such as Greenfeast. Seedlings appear in about 10 days, and picking carries on for several weeks as long as you keep the pods coming off.

In practice, an autumn sowing in the north is picked from late autumn into winter, and a late winter sowing crops in spring. Spring sowings in Canterbury, Otago, Southland and Central Otago crop from late spring into summer.

Growing Peas in Pots

Peas grow well in containers. Our plant data calls for a pot of at least 25 cm with a trellis. Dwarf and semi-leafless types such as Massey and Novella suit pots best because they stay compact and largely hold themselves up, while tall climbers such as Telephone and Sugar Snap need a tall support fixed firmly in or behind the pot.

Sow in the same months as the garden for your region, about 3 cm deep and 5 cm apart. Pots dry out faster than garden beds, so check them often once the plants flower, and water at the base to keep mildew away. Feed lightly, as peas fix their own nitrogen.

Best pea varieties for NZ

Companion planting

Peas grow well with carrots, radish, corn, cucumber and beans. Keep them away from onions, garlic and other alliums, which can stunt them.