How to Germinate Peas

Last Updated: September 15, 2021

Peas supply a wide variety of nutrients to your diet. Depending on the type--from sugar snap peas to dry peas to green garden peas - they provide high amounts of fiber, iron, protein, Vitamin C, lysine, tryptophan and carbohydrates. Peas are a cool-season crop, so indoor planting and germination should take place several weeks before the last frost in your area. This will ensure plenty of time for outdoor planting, growth and harvest before temperatures warm to the point where pea plants fail to grow and produce. Although you can plant pea seeds directly in the ground, horticulturists with the Oregon State University Extension Service and the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources advise that knowledge of how to germinate peas before planting ensures a better harvest.

Steps

1
Apply nitrogen-fixing pea inoculant (available at garden supply centers) to the pea seeds. Follow package recommendations.
2
Moisten a paper towel and fold it into quarters.

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3
Slide pea seeds into the paper towel's folds.
4
Put the paper towel and pea seeds into a perforated plastic baggie.
5
Place the seeds in a warm location, such as a sunny windowsill, with a temperature of approximately 64 degrees Fahrenheit (17.8 degrees Centigrade).
6
Monitor the moisture level of the paper towel and pea seeds, adding water as needed to ensure a humid environment inside the baggie.
7
Watch for roots poking from the folds of the paper towel.
8
Fill 3-inch (7.62 cm) pots with potting soil.
9
Plant 1 germinated seed from the folded paper towel into each pot.
- Note: Set the germinated seeds about 1/2 the planting depth recommended on the seed packet and cover them lightly with potting soil.
10
Water the pots until the soil surrounding the pea seeds is thoroughly moistened.
11
Allow the germinated pea seeds to grow into healthy seedlings before transplanting them outside into your garden.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I separate peas from the paper if the roots are in the paper?

Community Answer

Cut around the root with scissors and plant the sprouted seed with root attached to the paper.
Question

Can I grow peas from fresh peas sprouting indoors?

Community Answer

If they're shooting out roots, then yes they can be grown outside. Sprinkle the newly germinated peas on upturned soil and cover or net for pests. The birds like the sprouts.
Question

What would the control be if doing it with students?

Community Answer

Control would depend upon your question. For instance, eliminate the water to prove water's role in germination and ATP production, or eliminate warmth to verify optimal germinating temperatures.

Warnings

Watch pea crops for pea aphids, army worms and cutworms, pea weevils, fusarium wilt, pea enation mosaic (virus transmitted by aphids), powdery mildew, root rot and damping off.

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Peas fail to germinate well in very cold or overly warm soil.

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Old pea seeds may not germinate as well or at all. Sow last year's leftover seeds more thickly than directions call for.

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Monitor pea plants for flower drop or stringy pea pods. These are signs of too much heat and/or not enough water.

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Don't eat old seed peas. Seed peas are treated with pesticides that make them inedible.

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