There is no trick to planting peas. They do best if direct seeded, but if you are truly impatient you can start seedlings in peat pots and plant them out when the danger of frost has passed. Sow the seed about an inch to an inch and a half deep and 2 inches apart, if planting in rows. Peas can be planted in single or double rows spaced about 6 inches apart or scattered in wide rows. Most varieties need some support no matter what the package says. Double rows can sometimes support each other, if they are extremely tall. Wide rows will generally cling to each other and fall toward the nearest fence or support when it rains. Pea plants aren't very heavy even when in fruit, so trellis or netting is enough of a support to hold a row. The plants will find there way there and fasten themselves with tendrils. The traditional pea support is old tree branches or bush trimmings, minus the leaves. Just stick the straight end in the ground and let the peas weave through the bushy limbs.
Watch Your Peas Grow from The University of Illinois Extension has further information on growing, harvesting and preserving your harvest. Southerners can pick up some tips on Midwinter Planting from Marina Blomberg of "The Gainesville Sun" and Growing Peas in a Semiarid Climate from "The Self-Sufficient Garden". If by some fluke you do have problems with your pea plants, Michigan State University Extension provides two fact sheets on Pea Diseases and Pea Insect Pests. Remember peas don't mind a little snow, so let's pull on our Wellingtons and get out there.
