DIY Pea Trellis Ideas: 7 Easy Ways to Support Peas

There’s no need to buy a pricey garden structure when it’s quick and easy to DIY a pea trellis like a garden arch or bamboo support. Peas, as well as sweet peas, can be bush or vining plants with both benefiting from being trellised. It keeps the plants upright and off the ground which promotes healthy growth and reduces the risk of insect and disease issues. Trellising pea plants also makes it easier to harvest the pods, or in the case of sweet peas, the fragrant blooms. Below you’ll find seven easy and effective ideas for DIY pea trellises.

Garden peas are easy to grow with the seeds direct sown in early spring as soon as the soil has thawed and is workable. They do best in a site with full sun and fertile soil. When ordering seeds, it’s important to read the seed catalog or seed packet carefully as pea plants can have bush or vining growth. Bush peas, like Wando, grow between 18 inches to 3 feet tall. Vining peas, like Sugar Snap, grow 3 to 6 feet tall. The type of trellis you choose should be based on the mature size of the plants.

Not only do peas have different types of growth, there are also different categories depending on the type of harvest. For edible peas there are shell, snow, and snap. Sweet peas, on the other hand, are toxic to consume and grown for their ruffly, often fragrant flowers. More on the types of peas below:

• Shell peas – Also called garden peas, shell peas are grown for the round tender peas which form inside bright green pods. While edible, the fibrous pods aren’t typically eaten. When the pods are plump, the peas are shelled and enjoyed fresh or cooked.
• Snow peas – Snow peas, or sugar peas, are prized for their slender sweet pods that are harvested while still