When to Plant Snow Peas in Canberra, Cold / Highland Guide
Sow March to May and July to September. Right now in October it is out of season. The next sowing month is March.
Grow Snow Peas in your space
Also called mangetout, sugar snap peas.
- Planting window
- Sow in autumn for a spring crop, or in late winter for picking before summer heat stops flowering. Pick pods young every 2-3 days.
- Days to harvest
- 60 days
- Sunlight
- Full sun to light shade.
- Water needs
- Keep evenly moist especially during flowering and pod production. Water at base.
- Spacing
- 8cm apart, 60cm between rows
- Soil pH
- 6.0-7.5
- Shop price
- $22.52/kg average
Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
This Snow Peas guide is written for the Cold / Highland zone, which takes in Canberra, Cooma and Bright. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
Snow peas (mangetout, sugar peas, Chinese peas) are a cool-season legume grown for flat, edible pods eaten before peas develop. Like garden peas, fundamentally cool-season crops that fail in heat. Higher edible yield per plant than shelling peas since the entire pod is eaten.
See what grows now in your own postcode
Planting Calendar for Cold / Highland
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | D | D | D | - | S | S/T/D | T/D | - | - | - |
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
Want a nudge when it is Snow Peas sowing time in Canberra?
One email a week with what is worth planting in the Cold / Highland zone right now, Snow Peas included, plus which veg has jumped in price at the supermarket. Free, and you can stop it in one click.
Current Growing Conditions
Soil temperature: 13.4°C (optimal range: 8–24°C) ✓ Ready to plant
Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Canberra), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like
In October the Cold / Highland zone normally runs 20°C by day and 7°C overnight, with about 58 mm of rain over 7 or 8 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -6.4°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 15 postcodes, SILO.
How to Grow Snow Peas in Cold / Highland Australia
When to Plant
Sow in autumn for a spring crop, or in late winter for picking before summer heat stops flowering. Pick pods young every 2-3 days.
- Soil
- Well-drained, moderately fertile. Do not over-enrich with nitrogen.
- pH Range
- 6.0-7.5
- Sunlight
- Full sun to light shade.
- Spacing
- 8cm apart, 60cm between rows
- Watering
- Keep evenly moist especially during flowering and pod production. Water at base.
Companion plants: Carrot, Turnip, Radish, Lettuce
Avoid planting near: Onion, Garlic, Shallot
Grow before, grow after
Snow Peas sit in the legumes turn of a four turn bed rotation.
- Grow before it
- Roots and alliums (Carrot, Beetroot, Onion)
- Grow after it
- Leafy greens and brassicas (Lettuce, Silverbeet, Broccoli)
Give the bed 3 turns before legumes go back in. Beans and peas fix nitrogen, so they leave the bed richer than they found it.
Cold / Highland Growing Tips for Snow Peas
Recommended Varieties
- Oregon Giant
- Mammoth Melting
Key Challenges
- Late frost
- Short season
Pro Tips
- Good zone once frost passes
- Cloches for early plantings
- Spring crops produce into December
Harvesting Snow Peas
When ready: Pods flat, translucent green, peas inside barely visible. Snap crisply.
How to harvest: Pick with two hands. Hold stem, snap pod. Pick every 2 days minimum.
Worth growing?
A 2.4 m × 1.2 m bed fits 26 plants, about $117 worth at today’s Aldi, Coles and Woolworths prices, checked on 10 October.
That is roughly 5 kg at $22.52 a kilo.
Draw your snow peas bed → No account needed.
Where to next
Supermarket Price
Current average retail: $22.52/kg (12-month range: $11.96–$27.60)
Grow your own and save on grocery bills.
Get the Full Interactive Guide
Track your garden, get real-time pest alerts, and plan around your zone's weather.
Open the planting dashboard Join GardenBuddy.auCommon Questions About Snow Peas
When do you plant snow peas in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): May to Jul
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Mar to Aug
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Mar to Aug
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Mar to Sep
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Mar to May, Jul to Sep
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Mar to Sep
- Mediterranean (Perth): Apr to Sep
Does snow peas grow all year round in Canberra?
No. In the Cold / Highland zone the planting months are Mar to May, Jul to Sep. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
What else is snow peas called?
Snow peas is the usual Australian name. Overseas seed packets and recipes call it mangetout, sugar snap peas. Same plant, same growing advice.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cold / Highland zone, Canberra is its reference city.