I actually planted my peas according to my planting schedule for the first time ever and they have done great. So great that they are in some need of support before they turn into a tangle and smother each other right out of production.

I thought about using bamboo canes or getting a cage for them, but it just seemed so silly to pay 50 cents for what’s really just a stick. I opted to forage around my “little woods” and I found these perfect young branches on a weedy sumac that’s slated to be cut down next week. Most excellent!

In a timely fashion, we received a package in the mail that had some sturdy bailing twine. It was just what I was looking for to tie these teepees together.

I made four in all and here’s how I did it.

Build a Pea Teepee (or four)

Materials Needed

• 4 young branches, no more than 1″ in diameter, 36″ long
• Bailing twine, garden twine, or jute string; acrylic pound of love yarn would work well too
• Some rustic looking yarn if you are using bright orange construction style bailing twine and don’t like the look (like me)
• Twist ties or little scraps of yarn for tying the peas to the teepee

Directions

Step One: Push the sticks into the ground at the four corners of the peas. I am trying out square foot gardening, so I placed mine so each stick is 1 foot apart from the others and each teepee takes care of a square foot worth of peas.

Step Two: Tie the ends of the sticks together with the strong twine.

Step Three: Wrap the yarn over the utilitarian twine if desired to give it a rustic cleaned up look.

Step Four: Use the twist ties or yarn scraps to tie the peas to the teepee and help train them to climb up it. They just need a little help since they like to grow straight up and not at an angle.

Other options:

We have a few dead trees, so I trimmed a few branches that had all their twigs still attached and stuck a single one into the ground for each pair of my bean sprouts. You could try something similar for your peas.

You could also criss cross twine back and forth between the sticks to give them plenty to grab onto.

Until next time!
Kristin Roach