How to grow snap peas with the Jang seeder

Jang settings for snap peas

Set the Jang to the BL12 roller with 11 x 11 sprockets (front x rear) and the brush down, and seed 2 rows on a 30″ bed.

Roller	BL12
Sprockets (front x rear)	11 x 11
Brush	Down
Rows per 30″ bed	2
In-row spacing	3″
Seed per 100′ bed	~800 seeds (about 200 g) (+/-)
Cultivars	Sugar Snap
Days to maturity	60 days
Harvest window	28 days
Harvest size	Pods about as thick as your little finger
Yield per 100′ bed	60 lb (over 4 weeks)

Bed figures are for a 100′ x 30″ bed. From the Paperpot Co. Growers Notes, developed with farmers Erich Schultz (Steadfast Farm) and Seth Davis. Adjust for your climate and conditions.

Bed preparation

• Broadfork the bed to loosen the soil, then shape it with a bed prep rake.
• Peas like a fresh layer of compost. If the last crop got compost, add alfalfa meal and pelleted chicken manure instead and tilth into the top 1-2″.
• Irrigate for 10 to 14 days* to germinate weed seed, then flame weed once the cotyledons are up.
• Peas need soil at 60°F to germinate (68°F is best). In cold soil, cover the bed with plastic for a week before seeding.

Seeding

• Set up the Jang: BL12 roller, 11 x 11 sprockets (front x rear), brush down. That drops a seed about every 3″.
• Two rows on a 30″ bed: 15″ apart, 7.5″ in from each edge. Mark them with the bed prep rake so the furrows are about 1″ deep.
• One pass per row. Test the BL12 with your seed lot at the bench first; pea seed varies a lot in size.
• As backup, start a tray of peas in the nursery a week before field seeding to fill any gaps.

Bed layout

Irrigation

• Run two lines of drip and keep the soil moist for the 7-10 days it takes peas to come up. Hand water if the drip doesn’t cover it.
• Once the vines grow, keeping the pods and leaves dry helps prevent disease.

Cultivation & trellising

• Cultivate 14-18 days after planting with a collinear hoe and side-dress with alfalfa meal or blood meal.
• Once the peas are over 10″ tall, mulch with straw to smother later weeds.
• Drive a 7′ T-post between the rows every 10′. Put a 1.25″ PVC tee on each post and run 1/2″ EMT through them as a top rail, then hang trellis netting from it.
• Run tomato twine along the front of the plants as they grow so they don’t flop forward.

Harvest

• Pick every other day once pods are about as thick as your little finger, working from the bottom of the plant up.
• Pinch the pod between two fingers and snap above the cap with your thumb so it doesn’t break.

Washing and packing

• Don’t wash peas. If they get wet, leave the bins open in the cooler for a couple of hours before closing them.
• Store at 35-40°F and sell within 4 days of harvest.

Snap peas with the Jang: FAQ

Other crops

arugula · baby kale · baby lettuce · baby spicy greens · baby brassica greens · spinach · carrots · radishes · salad turnips. All settings in one place: the Jang seeding chart and the growers notes hub.