×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

How to Get More Peas on Your Plant

Food Gardening Magazine: February 2025

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

How to Get More Peas on Your Plant

Understand how to get more peas on your plant and maximize your harvest by understanding plant biology and using techniques that work with nature's own systems.

By Amanda MacArthur

Girl with peas

Last spring, my six-year-old daughter taught me an important lesson about how to get more peas on your plant. She’d been helping me in the garden since she could walk, and her absolute favorite activity was harvesting pea pods. The problem was, she was so enthusiastic about collecting them that our yield was significantly lower than I’d hoped. This sparked my journey into the science of maximizing pea production.

I found myself diving deep into research about pod formation in legumes. I needed to stay ahead of my little harvester’s eager hands, and in the process, I discovered fascinating biological mechanisms that changed how I grow peas forever.

Child holding peas

Understanding the Science Behind Pea Production

Garden peas are fascinating plants that operate on a feedback system. When you regularly harvest the pods while they’re young and tender, you’re actually sending chemical signals to the plant to produce more. This process, known as compensatory growth, is driven by plant hormones called auxins and cytokinins that regulate pod development.

The key to getting more peas on your plant lies in understanding this hormone balance. When pods are allowed to mature fully, they produce hormones that suppress new flower and pod formation. This makes perfect sense from an evolutionary standpoint – once the plant has successfully produced mature seeds, it doesn’t need to invest energy in making more pods.

Temperature plays a crucial role in pod formation. Peas produce the most pods when daytime temperatures stay between 60-75°F (15-24°C). Higher temperatures can trigger the plant to switch from pod production to seed maturation more quickly, reducing overall yield.

The soil’s phosphorus content directly affects pod production too. While nitrogen promotes leafy growth, phosphorus is essential for flower formation, which leads to pods. This is why many gardeners unknowingly reduce their pea yield by over-applying nitrogen-rich fertilizers without balancing phosphorus levels.

Peas on vine

Practical Steps to Maximize Pod Production

Based on these biological principles, I’ve developed a systematic approach to increasing pea production. First, I ensure proper soil preparation before planting. Adding bone meal or rock phosphate in early spring provides the phosphorus necessary for abundant flowering and subsequent pod formation.

Regular harvesting is absolutely crucial for how to get more peas on your plant. I make it a daily ritual to check for young, tender pods. Even if you’re not planning to eat them all immediately, removing mature pods prevents the plant from shifting its energy away from new pod production.

Providing proper support is another often overlooked factor in maximizing yield. Pea plants that can climb freely produce more pods than those left to sprawl. I use tall trellises or netting that allows the plants to reach at least 6 feet high, which encourages more flowering nodes to develop along the stems.

Water management plays a vital role too. While peas need consistent moisture, overwatering can lead to excessive vegetative growth at the expense of pod production. I use mulch to maintain even soil moisture and prevent the stress that can trigger premature pod maturation.

peas growing on the farm

Best Varieties for Maximum Production

Through years of trials in my own garden and consulting with other experienced growers, I’ve found that variety selection can make a tremendous difference in your harvest size. The following varieties have consistently demonstrated superior production capabilities:

  • ‘Alderman’ (also known as ‘Tall Telephone’) is my go-to variety for maximum yield. These tall vines can reach 6-8 feet and produce an impressive quantity of large pods, each containing 8-10 peas. The extended harvest period means you’ll be getting more peas on your plant over a longer season.
  • ‘Lincoln’ has earned its place in many productive gardens due to its reliable heavy-cropping nature. What makes this variety special is its tendency to produce multiple pods per node, effectively doubling your yield in the same space. It’s also remarkably heat-tolerant, which extends the productive season.
  • For those looking to maximize early-season production, ‘Wando’ is hard to beat. It was developed to tolerate both heat and cold, making it an excellent choice for getting an early start while still producing well into the warmer months. The plants are notably vigorous and disease-resistant.
  • ‘Green Arrow’ has been a commercial favorite for good reason – each pod typically contains 9-11 peas, and the plants produce abundant pods. What I particularly appreciate about this variety is its resistance to fusarium wilt and powdery mildew, two conditions that can significantly impact yield.
  • For small space gardens, ‘Maxigolt’ offers impressive production from more compact plants. Despite growing only to about 3 feet tall, these plants produce surprisingly large pods and maintain steady production throughout the season.

Learning how to get more peas on your plant starts with choosing the right variety for your specific growing conditions. I’ve found that planting multiple varieties with different maturation dates helps ensure a steady supply of peas throughout the season.

Learning how to get more peas on your plant has transformed my garden’s productivity. These days, there are enough peas for both my daughter’s harvesting adventures and our family meals, and it turns out she was helping the process along. The science behind pod production might be complex, but the practical applications are straightforward: regular harvesting, proper support, balanced nutrition, and consistent moisture.

If you’ve found these tips helpful, I’d love to hear about your own pea-growing experiences in the comments below. What methods have worked best in your garden? Have you noticed any patterns in how your plants respond to different care techniques?

And for a more comprehensive guide to growing all types of peas, including detailed planting calendars and troubleshooting tips, don’t forget to check out our complete Pea Gardening Guide. Together, we can create gardens that are both productive and delightful for the whole family.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

bone meal, garden peas, overwatering, peas, rock phosphate

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Gardener’s Notebook

  • From Seeds to Smoothies This February
  • Fresh Takes

  • What to Plant in February in Zones 4-6
  • What to Plant in February in Zones 7-8
  • What to Plant in February in Zones 9-10
  • The Science of Seedling Success
  • The Most Unique Types of Basil You’ve Never Tried
  • How to Get More Peas on Your Plant
  • Bush Beans vs. Pole Beans: To Climb or Not to Climb?
  • The Many Seasons of Strawberries Across the U.S.
  • Orange You Glad You Have Too Many Oranges?
  • Featured Videos

  • 6 Essential Gardening Tools for Beginners to Buy in February
  • The Best Seed-Starting Methods for Max Germination
  • How to Build a Simple Hydroponic System
  • How to Propagate Rosemary and Other Herbs Indoors
  • Hearty Winter Cacciatore
  • Featured Kit

  • Introducing Our 2025 Spring Food Garden Planning Kit
  • Featured Recipes

  • Cozy Cinnamon Banana Smoothie
  • Berry Good Smoothie
  • Simply Soothing Melon Smoothie
  • Super Greens Kale Smoothie
  • Letters to the Editor

  • Letters to Food Gardening Magazine, February 2025

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.