e I was a kid I have grown peas.  They are so easy to grow in the garden and they are, other than some of the leafy veggies, one of the first real crops to be harvested in early summer.  Some gardeners like to plant their peas in late March or early April.  I tend to wait until the middle of April to plant because a few wet cold days can rot the seeds. 

I plant all types of peas using the bush variety, the taller telephone type as well as edible shells and those you have to shuck. 

The first thing I do is soak my pea seeds for about 12hours.  This helps with faster germination.  I also look at the weather forecast carefully before planting. I do not want to plant if the weather is going to be cold and wet for more than 3 days in a row.  I find this ends up rotting the pea seeds.

I like to use an inoculant for my peas.  This helps with germination.  Most stores that sell seeds will also sell an inoculant for them.  Since the peas are presoaked, once I drain them the inoculant will stick very nicely to the outside of the peas.  I basically just roll them in the inoculant before planting.

I plant my rows facing north-south and dig the row about 4" deep.  I cover the seeds with about 1" of soil and then continue to fill in the row with additional soil as the peas grow.  This seems to help the peas stay strong and not flop over.

Peas that are not the bush variety like to have support.  You can use almost anything.  I have used a pea fence, pre-made, and also used old sticks from the woods.  It doesn't matter what you use as long as the peas can cling to the stakes.  

I plant in double rows leaving about 2" between the seeds.  I also plant on both sides of the fence to create the double row.  This way I have peas growing up both sides of the support.