In the same way that there is nothing like the taste of a homegrown tomato, there is absolutely nothing as sweet as a homegrown pea and you don’t even need a garden or an allotment to grow them in either. The roots of pea plants are relatively shallow, do you don’t need a huge big deep garden, they’re the perfect vegetable to grow in containers. It is easy to grow peas in pots on terraces, in your back yard or even on a small balcony. We cover how to grow peas at home in pots, how to grow peas indoors, in greenhouses and outdoors as well as how long do peas take to grow and the best peas to grow in containers.
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How to grow peas in pots
Peas don’t have an elaborate deep root system, so in a lot of ways, they’re the perfect vegetable to grow in pots. You will need to stake them with a pea support system, so that when they start to grow and develop they won’t fall over and snap their delicate structure. One of the benefits of growing peas in pots is that if you start one pot a couple of weeks after the first one then you’ll get a steady supply of peas throughout the season. So, definitely put peas on your succession planting plan! You can sow 8 seeds in a 20 cm pot quite easily.
If you want quicker results from growing peas in a pot, then start from seedlings rather than seeds and you’ll get a 21-28 day head start.
When you’re growing peas in tubs you don’t need a huge amount of effort to get them to produce. A little sun (but not too much), keep them out of the wind, keep the compost moist and make sure they have support.
The best varieties of peas to grow in pots
It’s a fallacy that all peas are the same. I’ll start by saying that the peas that you grow at home will be the sweetest tasting peas you ever taste. There are specific varieties of peas that are “early croppers”, some main croppers and some varieties that do better in certain environments. Here are the best varieties of peas to grow in posts:
You can buy pea seeds from Amazon.
- Kelvedon Wonder Peas are generally a great pea variety to start with. They’re a great early cropper, mildew resistant and they have good resistance to pea wilt too. > Buy Kelvedon Wonder Peas here
- Pea Bingo (worth buying for the name alone) is a good early main crop pea. They’re easy to grow and come recommended by Kew Gardens. > Buy Pea Bingo here.
- Pea Rondo is an excellent main crop pea variety. It provides excellent yields and is great for freezing too. > Buy Pea Rondo here.
- Pea Eddy is great if you’re a big pea eater. This pea variety has excellent powdery mildew resistance and with up to 9 peas per pod AND two pods per node this is great for volume peas! > Buy Pea Eddy here.
- Pea Terrain is the best late harvesting pea around. It’s renowned for outstanding performance and is resitant to both powdery mildew and downy mildew too. Buy Pea Terrain here.
The best pots to grow peas in
Pots don’t need a whole lot of space. The best pots for peas only need to accommodate a small root system. The root system of a pea isn’t huge, so you can get away with putting 6-8 seeds in a 20-centimetre pot.
Pea plants need support for their delicate structure, so you will need to put a pea support system in – if you have trellis and garden wire, then this will work, just stand the pot up against the wall.
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Alternatively, go upside down and plant smaller varieties in a hanging basket and harvest your peas from the bottom up!

Why grow peas
We rarely see fresh peas in the grocery or supermarket. Most peas in the UK are garden peas and most of them that are consumed are frozen, with tinned peas coming second. The UK produces 150,000 tonnes of peas for freezing alone. One of the reasons that so many peas are grown for freezing is that a quick freeze locks in the taste and nutrients of the pea, which very quickly disappear if not eaten.
And while frozen peas retain a lot of the goodness of the vegetable, they taste NOTHING like peas that you’ve grown yourself. And picked and eaten directly off the plant.
The primary reason to grow peas yourself is for the taste.
When to plant peas
Peas are a great cool-season vegetable – they can be sown from seed from March to June, but you’ll need to make sure that your compost or soil is about 10 centigrade. Peas grow best when the air temperature is about 13 to 18 degrees.
We recommend planting peas in containers in succession – a new pot or a new batch every 2 weeks, will keep your peas cropping regularly.
Planting peas in pots is a great way of being able to control their growing conditions and the temperature, you can plant them a little earlier and keep them inside (our back porch worked wonders), then move them to a sheltered area of the garden if you have a mini greenhouse or a cloche.
How to plant Peas in a pot
Fill your pea container with compost. Your pea seeds need to be pushed into the compost about 5 centimetres down. And about 5 centimetres apart from other pea seeds.

How to grow peas from seed in a pot
Growing garden peas in a pot from seed is easy. Sow your seeds about 5 centimetres apart. Push them into the compost in your pots about 5 centimetres deep. Peas can transplant quite easily, so you can start them off in seed starter trays and transplant them if you have the room. You’ll need to keep the compost moist, but not soggy. Once the seeds germinate, try and keep your peas in at least a partly sunny environment.
How to store peas
The best answer to this is that you can’t effectively store fresh peas. The best way to store peas is to freeze them as soon as possible, as peas have the best taste if they’re picked and then use immediately. You can keep them for maybe a week in the salad compartment of our fridge, but the taste starts to go very quickly.
Tips for Growing peas
Peas really are both an easy vegetable to grow, but also a very satisfying vegetable to grow. Want other easy vegetables to grow? Here you go. There is nothing better than eating the peas directly off the plant, they’re so fresh, tasty and sweet. They are nothing like the peas you buy frozen or (shudder) in tins. (Actually, tinned peas are ok but they’re nothing like fresh peas!).
Why not start growing a few peas in a pot to see how you get on, I guarantee that next season you’ll plant more! Growing peas at home won’t save you a huge amount of money, as frozen peas are generally seriously cheap, but once you’ve tasted fresh out of the pod peas you’ll be spoiled for life!

Where to grow peas
Peas don’t need a huge amount of space, so growing peas in containers is an excellent solution for them. Peas do need a bit of sunshine, but they’re also ok in cool weather, so they don’t need sunshine all day. Peas need shelter from the wind as they’re delicate creatures and they need moist but not waterlogged compost. A 20-centimetre pot will easily grow 6-8 pea plants.
If you’re not able to collect rainwater for your peas, then why not use a space-saving expandable hose? They’re such good quality these days – here are our tips on the best ones.
If you’ve got no more space on the ground why not try growing peas in hanging baskets? Growing dwarf peas in pots works really well in hanging baskets and it’s a novel way of using all the available space in your garden, yard or balcony.
So what are you waiting for?
How to harvest peas
Harvest your peas from the bottom of the plant first. The peas at the bottom of the plant are the most mature. If you’re growing peas in hanging baskets, then this advice is all upside down!
Hold the plan and snap the pod off, otherwise, you’ll damage the plant. Your peas will be ready to harvest about 3 months after sowing seeds. You’ll see with regular garden peas that they’re ready when the pods are swollen with peas.
You should harvest your peas regularly as this encourages the plant to produce more pods.
What variety of peas to grow in pots
Shelling peas are those peas that are grown for the peas inside. You pop the peas out of the pod and discard the pod (a great addition to your compost bin!). You’ll want to look at two types of peas to grow in containers. Early season peas and maincrop peas. Favourite early season peas are Pea Misty and Kelvedon wonder. Sow these seeds and you’ll be harvesting them 3 months later. Kelvedon wonder peas in pots work really well.
Maincrop peas will take 15-16 weeks from sowing to harvest.
Best pea varieties to grow
As a reminder, here are the recommended varieties of peas to grow in pots
- Growing Kelvedon Wonder Peas in pots is a great pea variety to start with. They’re a great early cropper, mildew resistant and they have good resistance to pea wilt too. > Buy Kelvedon Wonder Peas here
- Pea Bingo (worth buying for the name alone) is a good early main crop pea. They’re easy to grow and come recommended by Kew Gardens. > Buy Pea Bingo here.
- Pea Rondo is an excellent main crop pea variety. It provides excellent yields and is great for freezing too. > Buy Pea Rondo here.
- Pea Eddy is great if you’re a big pea eater. This pea variety has excellent powdery mildew resistance and with up to 9 peas per pod AND two pods per node this is great for volume peas! > Buy Pea Eddy here.
- Pea Terrain is the best late harvesting pea around. It’s renowned for outstanding performance and is resitant to both powdery mildew and downy mildew too. Buy Pea Terrain here.
When to plant peas in pots
Plant peas from March to late June. Read about what else to plant in June here. If the weather is a little cold, then start your peas in containers inside or in a mini greenhouse and move them outside when it warms up.
How to Grow Peas in Containers FAQS
Here are the most asked questions about growing peas. Got a question about how to grow pea plants in pots? Use the comments or email us and we’ll add your question and the answer to our sowing peas in pots frequently asked questions!
Can you grow peas in pots? Can you grow peas in a pot?
Yes. Growing pea plants in containers or pots is an easy way to be able to control their environment and it is easy to manage in small spaces. Starting peas in pots and then transplanting them could also be a way to go, although growing peas in containers UK wide means that it’s just easier to move the entire pot around the garden as your garden and weather conditions change.
Can you grow peas in a greenhouse?
Growing peas in a greenhouse is an excellent way to get your peas started early. You can have the best of both worlds by growing peas in a container inside your greenhouse and then moving the container outside when the weather is better.
What’s the best way to grow peas?
If you’re looking for how to grow peas at home, then you’re probably also interested in the best way to grow peas. It’s easy to grow peas in greenhouses, where they have a measure of cover in colder weather, we like growing peas in containers, for the flexibility. You can move peas in pots to different parts of the garden, put them in a greenhouse if needed and get them under cover too.
How deep do you plant peas?
When you’re looking at how to sow peas you’ll want to ensure that you sow them at the right depth. Sow pea seeds about 5 centimetres into the soil or compost.
How tall do pea plants grow?
The average pea variety grows to about 1 to 1.2 metres. You’ll find some dwarf varieties of peas that only grow to 60 centimetres tall!
How long do peas take to grow?
Peas will take about 3 months or 90 days from planting to be ready to harvest.
How long do peas produce for?
If you don’t pick the pea pods, then the pea plant won’t produce any more. Keep picking and the pods will keep coming. If after you’ve harvested all the pods keep an eye out for flowers. If you see the plant still producing flowers, then continue (and the weather is good), then you’re likely to see more pods.
Once you’ve picked all the pods if the plant turns brown with yellow leaves then it’s likely too hot for the pea plant and it’s time to dig it up.
How many pea plants per container?
The number of pea plants per pot depends on the size of the pot. When you’re planting homegrown peas, you’ll want to allow a distance of about 5 centimetres per seed.
What is the best container size for peas?
When you are growing peas in a container you’ll want to look at how many plants per container. Each pea plant needs around 5 centimetres diameter around it. Peas do not have a deep root system – so a depth of 20 centimetres is fine. You will need a pea support system though.
How many pea plants should I have?
The answer to this depends on how many peas you want to grow! In your first season, we recommend 2-3 pots of peas. With 6 to 8 plants in each pot, this will give you a good idea as to how many peas you’re likely to want in future years.
What yield do pea plants give?
If you are growing peas directly into the ground you can expect a yield of 1 kilo of peas per 10 plants. Assume slightly less in a pot. If you’re growing on average 7 plants in a pot, then expect to get 500-600 grams of peas from your pot of peas.
Can I plant frozen peas?
You can plant frozen peas, but they’re just going to rot. Frozen peas have been both blanched and frozen which destroys the enzymes in the pea. This means that frozen peas won’t germinate.
What other fruit and vegetables can I grow in pots?
Try these other guides to growing in pots and containers
- Grow peas in pots
- Grow carrots in pots
- Grow rhubarb in pots
- Grow spinach in pots
- Grow courgettes in pots
- Growing onions in pots
- How to grow Asparagus in pots
- How to grow Beetroot in pots
- How to grow Coriander in pots
- How to grow Basil in pots
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Final Words on growing peas in pots UK
Growing your own peas isn’t going to save you a huge amount of money, a huge percentage of the garden peas that we buy here in the UK are bought frozen and that’s for the nutritional value and taste. The reason to grow your own peas in pots is for the taste. We hope you’ve found our guide on how to grow peas in a pot useful. Why not try growing a pot of peas, drop 6-8 seeds in a small pot, pop in a small pea support frame and see how you go. Once you’ve tasted homegrown peas you won’t go back!
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4 thoughts on “How to Grow Peas in Pots [Homegrow Peas in Containers]”
can you plant peas directly from the pod after popping it out from the pod or do you have to wait for a while until they are dry before you can plant them?
must you buy pea seeds to plant peas?
The accepted wisdom is that if you’re wanting to save the peas for seeds then leave them on the vine until the pod is fully dry / or dry completely before storing. (The growing season for peas is quite short, unless you have the ability to grow indoors/underglass). So no, you don’t need to buy more seeds, you can save from plants you grow, but you’re unlikely to be able to grow multiple continous crops in the same season.
I could not find pea seeds to buy, but went to a market to buy the ones for cooking and therefore my question on how can you use those for planting?
Yes, they should grow well and are cheaper. Soak them in water for 24 hours first and then treat as you would the pea seeds! Good luck!