Sugar snap peas companion plants are quite a few, as pea plants are compatible with many species. However, you should select the plants that will help your peas grow faster as well as repel pests, such as marigolds, summer savory or nasturtium.
Properly pairing your peas will also help the companions grow, and benefit from extra nitrogen in the soil.
To learn about the best plants for pairing, read this article.
“Companion plants sharing root zones can increase yield efficiency by 20%.”West Virginia University
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10 Types of Popular Sugar Snap Peas Companion Plants
For an awesome companion planting experience, grow these plants with your sugar snap peas:
1. Marigolds
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Just in case you have pests such as cucumber beetles, cabbage worms and Mexican bean beetles attacking your peas, you are in luck, as you can grow them with marigolds and say goodbye to the pests.
While marigolds are very beautiful flowers, they also have pest-repelling properties so your peas will benefit a lot from the relationship.
Marigolds will also benefit from the peas, as these can add more nitrogen to the soil with help from microbes. Marigolds need full sun to bloom while peas need full sun for optimal growth.
This means that even though you can grow both plants together, you want to appropriately space them so that no plant covers the other.
2. Catnip
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Here’s another awesome plant for your sugar snap or snow peas. Catnips help to repel insects such as Japanese beetles, carrot flies and cabbage moths. Growing peas and catnips is also beneficial to the latter, as the peas will fix a lot of nitrogen in the soil.
It truly is a symbiotic relationship with nothing to worry about so long as there are enough nutrients for both plants.
While peas have enough nitrogen for themselves, they need iron, potassium, phosphorus and other nutrients in the soil. If these nutrients aren’t available, there could be competition between the plants and your peas may not produce seeds anymore.
3. Borage
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If you have been growing peas before and are not comfortable with the harvest, you can increase your yield by growing the peas near borage plants. These plants attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies into your garden, so their companions will benefit a lot from them.
Before planting peas with borages, note that these are annuals, so you may need to replant them yearly.
4. Beans
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Of course, the best type of crop to grow with peas is the bean plant. Beans and peas are so related and similar in many aspects, so they make good companions. You can grow bush beans, green beans, fava beans and any type of beans with your peas and you wouldn’t find any problem.
Also, note that beans are legumes like peas, so they release extra nitrogen into the soil as well.
While you no longer have to worry about nitrogen in the soil, remember that beans and peas need other nutrients. Also, note that the microbes responsible for fixing nitrogen into the soil are only effective in well-drained and humus-rich soil.
5. Beets
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Instead of growing peas with other plants that fix nitrogen into the soil, consider adding plants such as beets that help to increase soil iron. Plant peas close to beets so that the latter will not need extra nitrogen while the peas will not miss on extra iron.
As root vegetables, beets can collect more iron than they need from the soil and when they rot, they release all that iron back into the soil for plants to consume.
Both plants, especially the beets, need full sun. This means that you should carefully space them so that the leaves of one do not cover the leaves of the other. Also, ensure that the beets have enough space (12-24 inches) in the soil for the development of their roots.
6. Summer Savory
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Here’s a cool plant that you want to grow peas with. Summer savories are not just herbs that can repel some pests from your garden, they can also enhance the taste of peas and other plants nearby.
The peas also help the savories, as they share some nitrogen so that the savories can produce more green leaves. When it’s time to harvest in your garden, you get both pea seeds and rich savory herbs.
While savories can help repel some pests such as mosquitoes, you need to watch out for butterfly and moth larvae, as they are dangerous to both peas and savories. Make use of repellents to keep your plants free from these pests so that you can have a productive garden.
7. Oregano
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Just in case you grew your peas too late or you are planning to grow another batch, you can extend the season by planting the peas with oregano.
Oregano plants help to protect pea roots, as they act as cover crops and keep the ground cooler. Oregano plants grow well with peas, so you can pair them easily.
8. Sweet Corn
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You should plant sugar snap peas or English peas very close to sweet corn so that you do not need to use stakes or trellises to act as structural support for the growth of the peas.
Corn grows upright and can carry the weight of the climbing pea tendrils, so they can easily climb on the corn stems. In return, the sweet corn plants will benefit from the extra nitrogen that the peas will fix into the soil.
Note that the nitrogen from peas is not sufficient to grow corn, so you’ll need to add more. Both corn and peas need as much sun as they can get, so you should make sure that the peas grow between the rows of corn so that the latter does not fully cover them.
Also, note that you may need to practice crop rotation, so you should not grow corn and peas on the same plot for many years in a row.
9. Radishes
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Radishes are good companions for peas because they grow quickly, so it would be as though the peas never shared the soil with them in the first place. Peas grow and are ready for harvest in a vegetable garden in two to three months while radishes need only five weeks before they are ready for harvest.
This means that before the peas will get fully mature or start needing a lot of nutrients from the soil, the radishes are already out and there will not be any form of competition for both of them.
If you want the mature radish roots, you may have to wait for some extra months, so you need to properly space the radishes and peas so that the former will have enough space to bulk up. Both peas and radishes are very easy to grow, so you won’t find any problems when pairing them together.
10. Nasturtium
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No plant companionship is complete without adding nasturtiums. These super plants are just what every gardener needs, as their benefits are countless. These plants attract a lot of pests, so instead of attacking your preferred plants, the pests will choose to attack the nasturtium instead.
As a plant that attracts a lot of insects, the nasturtium also attracts pollinators into your garden, so your garden pea plants will produce a lot of seeds, as almost all their flowers will be pollinated.
The nasturtium is an awesome plant, right? It gets even better because this plant is not demanding. While it prefers full sun, it can grow in partial shade. It can also grow in every type of soil so long as water drains quickly. You truly want to grow this plant with your peas.
Conclusion
Companion plants will surely help your sugar snap peas achieve optimal growth.
Here’s what you should remember:
- Peas help to fix nitrogen, so most plants will benefit more when you grow them with peas.
- Some plants that can help increase your pea harvest, as they attract pollinators, are nasturtiums and borages.
- Examples of plants that can repel pests from your peas are marigolds and summer savories.
- You can use oregano plants as ground cover for your peas and extend the growing season.
- Ensure that you put the light and space needs of the companion plants into consideration.
Which of the pea companions will you grow? You should reread the tips in this article while choosing your pea plant’s companions so that you can grow them without problems.
References
- Peas Companion Planting Guide: 10 Plants to Pair With Peas. Masterclass.
Retrieved from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/peas-companion-planting-guide
