How To Grow Pea Shoots – All Year Round

You don’t need green fingers to grow your own pea shoots and sprouts! Ideal for first-time growers, yielding a harvest after just 7-10 days. Growing your own is incredibly easy and their vibrant green colour is a welcome addition to any countertop or windowsill.

These nutrient-dense vitamin bombs are quick and easy to grow indoors. Plus, you don’t need any fancy equipment to produce sweet, tender pea sprouts and shoots. I’ve been growing pea shoots on our windowsill for about 10 years now, and our kids love helping with planting and harvesting. It’s so easy!  In this post, I will highlight the various growing methods that I’ve used for successful bumper crops.

What are pea shoots?

Pea shoots are the tender young green shoots of pea plants that are typically grown in soil and are harvested just above the soil line.

A good choice for shady spaces, they only need one or two hours of sun a day, although thrive best and are greener with more.  They grow well indoors over winter  – just sow a tray or two and keep next to your brightest window. Their resilience and fast growth make them so satisfying to grow and sewing every second week gives you a continuous supply. 

Pea shoots are also a great source of folate, antioxidants, and carotene and they contain an enzyme called Diamine Oxidase (DAO) that helps break down histamine in the human body so you can flush it out.

Pea sprouts vs pea shoots

Sprouts – Sprouts are the first stage in the lifecycle of a plant. They’re grown in water and harvested after just a few days when the root tip begins to grow. The entire seed and young root are consumed. You can check out this post on how to grow chickpea sprouts.

Pea shoots – Shoots are immature plants that are grown in soil. The stems and leaves are harvested after the true leaves have emerged and the plants are several inches tall. Pea shoots are ready to eat in about two to three weeks. You can check out my post on How To Sprout Chickpeas for more information on sprouting.

What you need:

You will need some kind of garden soil or compost. Small bags can be picked up cheaply at most supermarkets.

Pea seeds

Below are my best tips for choosing a container depending on if you plan to grow them indoors or outdoors

If growing pea shoots outdoors:

You will need a tray, flower pot, or container with holes. You can add holes to most plastic containers using a power drill. The holes are necessary to allow any excess water to drain away if it rains. I have also used a raised bed to grow larger amounts of shoots. Sowing more spaciously and allowing the plants to mature gives you the opportunity to harvest pea leaves and flowers. A delicious and beautiful addition to your summer salads. 

If growing indoors:

Most containers will work fine. If they have holes at the bottom you guarantee that the soil will not become saturated, but you need to consider that the container will need a tray underneath to catch the water that drains through when you water.

If you decide on a container without holes you may consider adding some sand or gravel to the bottom to help with drainage. I have experimented with containers of many shapes and sizes over the years, all successfully. I recommend that there is a depth of at least 2 -3 cm or 1 -1.5inches to allow for sufficient soil to hold moisture and allow nutrients for regrowth. 

Using the double container method is a great solution for both indoor and outdoor growing and is cheap and effective. Check out Sarah Bäckmo’s post on how to put together this system. I’ve followed saras garden for years and got so many great tips about how to start a garden.

What kind of peas are suitable for growing pea shoots?

A packet of whole yellow or green peas from the supermarket is as good as pea seeds from a garden center. You can pick them up cheaply at the supermarket wholefoods store and they grow wonderfully!

I’ve also used seeds that I have saved from previous years’ pea harvest, this has been an interesting experiment as each pea has a slightly different characteristic and flavour. You can of course also pick up seeds from your garden center but it’s not so cost-effective as you need a quite a few.  It’s less work to use shop bought and gives a fantastic result!

How to grow your own pea shoots

Step 1

Soak them overnight in a bowl of water, they will swell to nearly double the size so choose a bowl that is large enough and top up with water if necessary. I have often sown pea shoots with an enthusiastic child and skipped this step with success. But to guarantee even germination soaking is recommended. 

How many seeds you will need is depending on the size of your container. They will swell after soaking but aim to have a little space between each pea if possible, they will not need lots of nutrition so it’s okay for them to fit snugly together. 

Step 2

Prepare your container. If you choose to add holes a power drill makes this step a breeze! 

Add a few centimeters or 1 -1.5 inches of soil to the bottom of the container. It’s not necessary for the soil to be compacted, fluffy is fine. 

Step 3

Scatter the pea seeds over the soil, don’t worry too much about even spacing! you can sow quite densely. Press down lightly and top with a thin layer of soil, about 1 cm /half an inch is plenty. If you choose to plant the seeds in a garden bed, I recommend that you don’t skip the overnight soaking and use a more generous spacing between seeds.

Step 4

Water. Be careful not to drown the soil, especially if you have chosen a container without holes, as I often do. The soil should be quite moist but not wet! Place on a windowsill or bright kitchen counter, keeping an eye that the soil doesn’t dry out. 

If growing pea shoots outside follow the same principles. All you need to do now is keep the compost moist – check it every day in hot weather, every couple of days in cooler weather, and water when needed. 

When and how to harvest

-You should see the first sign of growth after 2 -3 days and can make your first harvest when the shoots are a few inches tall but waiting 10 days until your shoots are about 10cm or 4 inches tall will give you a larger harvest. 

-The shoots and vine tendrils are also edible and have the same delicate, pea-like flavour. In fact, every part of the pea plant is edible! Use scissors to cut the stem about 2cm above the soil.

-Continue to water carefully and your pea shoots will regrow for at least one more harvest. 

-Sowing every second week gives you a continuous supply. 

-Allowing the plants to mature will give you a harvest of fantastic pea leaves and flowers! Taking the top leaves every couple of days will slow the plant’s growth and give you a longer harvest time. I plant mine at the beginning of April and can harvest all summer! I do find that the tight spacing means I need to water with fertilizer from the middle of summer and onwards. Remember that the whole plant is edible so don’t miss out on the beautiful flowers, a beautiful and interesting addition to a salad. 

Allowed to mature fully, pea flowers will produce pea pods. Depending on the variety of peas used they can be very tasty! Usually not as sweet as varieties bred for peas, they are still edible. Is it just our dog who adores peas?

Did you know you can grow bean shoots in the same way? Harvesting the young leaves, they have a fresh, slightly peppery flavour and are delicious in a stir fry!

Troubleshooting

Occasionally, although rarely, you may find that your peas don’t germinate. This may be due to the seeds being too old, the temperature too cold or the soil drying out. Try again with this in mind and if they fail to germinate again I would recommend trying a different brand or type of pea. 

You may notice some white mold on the surface of the soil, this is a sign that the soil is or has been too wet. It’s fine to eat the pea shoots that have grown but I would not recommend regrowing, starting a new batch, and experimenting with how much water is just enough.

Tips on how to serve your homegrown pea shoots

Full of flavour and vibrant colour, fresh pea shoots are such a wonderful compliment to salads or as a simple, nutritious,  garnish. The shoot is the tender tip of the vine and is edible which includes the leaves, stem, blossom, and tendrils. They taste like peas, but with a flavor that is all their own.

Pea tips and pea shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. Pea tips are more commonly cooked, while the sprouts or stems are more commonly eaten raw.

Larger pea shoots are delicious when stir-fried with a little chili and garlic until just wilted!

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