HRM Parent Blog

Special thanks to Deirdre Evans for this great post on getting your kids out in the garden for a little late summer planting!

It’s time to think about Fall planting, and what better snack to plant with kids than sugar snap peas. Peas are an all time favourite in our house. Not only do my kids love picking and eating them straight off the vine, but they are one of the easiest seeds for children to handle because of their size.

To plant the peas, begin by having your kids poke a little hole in the loose soil with their finger or a stick, drop the pea seed straight in the ground and then water. They can plant the seeds 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep and one inch apart. With all of this rain, they should see the first little leaves appear within a week. Once the leaves appear have your child stick a branch in the soil about an inch away from the seed, the plant will climb up the branch as it grows.

Here in Halifax, seeds planted now will grow into the Fall, and hopefully bring you fresh peas by end of September.  The Farmer’s Almenac gives October 20th as the first frost date for Halifax, so this gives plenty of time for your peas to grow.

Short on space?  I’ll stick peas in planters on the balcony, at the ends of my raised beds and even as a border behind my flower beds. You can plant the peas along the edges of your garden and then use branches as a trellis that peas will climb.

You can likely still find pea seeds at Halifax Seed or even Canadian Tire.  My favourite spot though is Vesey’s in PEI as they have many different varieties, are local and will ship.   I really like their Sugar Snap Peas as they are very sweet with a great crunch.  

My children love picking and eating fresh from the garden. In fact, it’s a great way to give them a snack as I get dinner ready.  They will head out to the vegetable patch and search for hidden peas, it’s always a game to see who can find the big pods that have made it without being picked.

Deirdre Evans, is an HRM mom who is passionate about urban gardening and introducing kids to healthy foods through gardening projects.    For more information on urban gardening, recipes and ideas for backyard gardening with kids, visit her website .