How to Grow Pea Shoots – The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Perfect Results

Here is how you grow Pea Shoots in 6 easy steps:

1. Measure the amount of peas you need for your sprouter or hemp mat.
2. Let the measured out amount of peas soak in cool water for 8 hours.
3. Pour the soaked peas onto the wet mat or into the sprouter.
4. Place the mat or sprouter in the shade in your kitchen.
5. Rinse every morning and evening with cool water until peas are moist.
6. Harvest the mature pea shoots when they are 10-15 cm long.

TIP 1: When you harvest the shoots, you only eat the green stems and leaves of the plant. You do not eat the peas and roots them-selves. You can eat the shoots raw or slightly cooked in many different dishes as I explain below.

TIP 2: You can also read how your can harvest from the same peas several times later in this article.

When you wish to grow your own pea shoots, the most important factor is the quality of the pea seeds you use.

I recommend that you always choose pea seeds that are specifically marketed for sprouting. This is important as these seeds are selected especially to produce more consistent results and have a high germination percentage.

But certified sprouting seeds are also tested for harmful bacteria such as Listeria, E. Coli and Salmonella according to the law for sprouting seeds here in Europe. Garden seeds are not under such restrictions as garden seeds are not meant for consumption but for planting i soil.

All seeds from in FRESH SPROUTS shop are certified sprouting seeds and I am regularly visited by the Danish Food Department to ensure I follow the rules that exist for organic sprouting seeds in Europe. This is your security for clean, certified organic seeds sold especially for sprout and microgreen cultivation.

It is fun to grow Pea Shoots hydroponically – without soil. In stead of soil you grow then either on hemp mats or in sprouting trays like the SproutPearl sprouter.

You will notice, that Pea shoots are easy to care for and require very little attention. You initially let them soak in water for 8 hours. Then you pour them onto the hemp mat or into the sprouter. After that you simply water them regularly to keep them moist but not directly wet. They should grow well just with these few guide lines.

If you’re growing pea shoots indoors, many choose to fertilize them once after harvesting first time. But fertilizing is actually not necessary as Peas draw in nitrogen from the air and can grow simply from this. It sounds quite fantastical, but Peas and many other legumes can do this. it is because pea plants flourish in symbiotic relationship with rhizobia – a special and non-harmful bacteria that live in nodules in the legumes’ roots. This bacteria feed the pea plants, so it can grow without you adding fertilizer to it.

Isn’t this just interesting?!

Pea shoots are ready to harvest when they reach about 4-6 inches / 10-15 cm in length. This will take about 12-14 days when you grow them in a temperature of 37 °C.

You eat only the stem and leaves on these crispy plants. To harvest these mature plants, simply snip the shoots off a few mm above the peas. Be careful not to damage the roots of the plants if you plan to harvest from them more than once.

More than once? Yes, you can actually harvest from the same pea two to three times. To do this you just need to cut the stem above the lowest set of leaves on the stem. This way the stem will form new shoots on the crease of the stem.

After the third harvest the taste become less interesting. Then you simply clean the sprouter and start over on a new batch of plants. 

Note, that harvesting several times will only work, if you grow the pea plants indoors. If you’re growing them outdoors, you can expect to harvest only once, as the plants will bolt and stop producing shoots once the weather warms up.