{"id":1267,"date":"2019-09-02T06:58:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T06:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?page_id=1267"},"modified":"2019-10-07T02:17:48","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T02:17:48","slug":"pea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/02\/pea\/","title":{"rendered":"Pea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pisum sativum<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong>: This crop originated somewhere in central Asia about 8000 years\nago and is now cultivated all around the world. In their dry state peas are a\nhighly nutritious, protein rich food and were once a staple food of Northern\nEuropean peasants. However for modern gardeners peas are more popular in their\ngreen stage and increasingly\nas edible pods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas are members of the Fabaceae<\/em> and share the most\nimportant characteristic of many members of that family. They have a symbiotic\nrelationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in nodules on their roots.\nThis makes them important for organic growers, because they can add nitrogen to\nthe soil, rather than taking\nit out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to understand that the pea plants themselves don\u2019t\nfix nitrogen, they simply play host to nitrogen fixing bacteria. If this\nbacteria isn\u2019t present in the soil then the growing plants will take nitrogen\nfrom the soil, just like  any other\nplant. See Inoculation below for more on this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are growing dry peas any nitrogen that is fixed may be\nconverted into protein rich peas, rather than entering the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crop value<\/strong>: <\/strong>Dry peas are one of the best\ncool weather sources of high protein food for the home garden. Home grown green\nshell peas are one of the taste highlights of the spring garden. The plants can\nbe very productive, especially when growing edible pods varieties. The growing\nleafy shoots and flowers are also edible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas are all the more valuable for their ability to enrich the\nsoil with nitrogen.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a cool weather spring crop they can be out of the ground by\nJune, leaving plenty of time for a warm weather crop to succeed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Peas<\/strong>

Seed facts<\/strong>
Germ temp: 40 (60 – 75) 85
Germination time: 6 – 17 days
36 days \/ 41\u00b0F
14 days \/ 50\u00b0F
9 days \/ 59\u00b0F
8 days \/ 68\u00b0F
6 days \/ 77\u00b0F * Optimum
6 days \/ 86\u00b0F
Germination percentage: 80%+
Viability: 3 years
Weeks to grow transplant: 4  

Planning facts<\/strong>
Hardiness: Hardy
Growing temp: 55 (60 – 65) 70\u00b0F
Plants per person: 50
Plants per sq ft: 8  

Planting<\/strong>:
Start: 8 wks before last frost
Plant out: 4 wks before last frost
Direct sow: 4 – 6 wks before last frost
Fall crop: 8 – 12 wks before first frost
Succession sow: every 2 – 4 wks  

Harvest facts<\/strong>
Days to harvest: 55 – 120 days
Harvest period: 4 – 6 weeks
Yield per plant: 2 oz
Yield per sq ft: 1 lb  
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional content<\/strong>: Green peas contain vitamins C and B6, along with folate, iron\nand several anticancer\nphytochemicals. They contain around 350 calories per pound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry peas are high\nin protein and contain over 1500 calories per pound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of growing<\/strong>: I have always found pea to be one of the easiest and most\nfoolproof crops (so long as they are protected from birds). The only time they\ndidn\u2019t do well for me was when I planted late and it got hot early. Even then\nthey did okay, but the harvest period was very short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/strong>: Peas are very much cool weather plants, growing best at a\ntemperature of 60 – 70\u00b0F. The flowers don\u2019t usually set pods above 80\u00b0F, so\nhigh temperatures severely\naffect production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH 5.5 (6.0 – 6.5) 7.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best soil for peas is a loose well-drained loam. If the soil\nis compacted then double digging is beneficial. If it is poorly drained, use\nraised beds, especially for early plantings, as they don\u2019t like wet soil. In\nvery poor soils it may pay to plant your peas in trenches, filled with a mixture of soil and compost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas don\u2019t need a soil that is high in\nnitrogen, as they can obtain their own. In fact if nitrogen is too easily\navailable they won\u2019t bother to fix any. They do need phosphorus (colloidal phosphate)\nand potassium (wood ashes), as well as calcium and magnesium (use dolomitic limestone). You can\nalso supply all of these with an organic fertilizer mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil preparation<\/strong>: Dig in 2\u02dd of compost or aged manure (it can be fresh if applied\nin fall), as well as colloidal phosphate and greensand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas are one of the first crops to be planted in spring, so many\ngardeners prepare the soil the previous autumn and cover it with mulch. This\nmust be removed several weeks before planting, to allow the soil to warm up.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong>: Peas need full sun and lots of room for good growth. The\nclimbing habit of the pole varieties can be an advantage, as it keeps them up\noff the ground and so saves garden space. However it also makes the plants\nvulnerable to high winds, so they should be planted in a sheltered spot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: Peas are cool weather plants, hardy down to\n20\u00b0 (28\u00b0F when flowering). They prefer mild growing temperatures (60 – 75\u00b0F)\nand don\u2019t usually set pods above 80\u00b0F. In areas with hot summers they are grown\nas a spring or fall crop. Unlike most cool weather crops they usually do better when planted\nin spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring<\/strong>: It is important to plant your crop early enough, so that it has\nsufficient time to mature before hot weather sets in. Normally the first peas\nare planted 4 – 6 weeks before the last frost date. The exact date depends upon\nthe soil temperature, it should be at least 40\u00b0F and preferably 60\u00b0F. If it is\ntoo cold they may rot before they germinate (or be eaten by rodents or birds). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some gardeners plant their first peas even earlier than this, but\nrun the risk of their being killed or injured by frost. When this works out you\nget very early peas, so it is often worth the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can make earlier crops less risky by warming the soil with black plastic or\ncloches two weeks before planting. You can leave the cloches on after planting\nto protect and warm the young plants (which speeds up growth).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer<\/strong>: In cool climates you can grow\npeas right through the summer (they aren\u2019t affected by day length). This won\u2019t\nwork in warmer climates though, as they don\u2019t like heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall<\/strong>: Plant a fall crop 8 – 12 weeks before the first fall frost, so\nit matures in cool\nweather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seed may be sown in autumn for an early spring crop, though there is some risk that the seed may rot\nover the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Succession sowing<\/strong>: In cool climates you can succession sow every 3 weeks, until the\nweather warms up. This doesn\u2019t work so well in warmer climates as later sowings\noften catch up with the earlier ones. In such cases a better solution is to\nplant several varieties with different maturation times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as with beans there are both bush and pole varieties of peas.\nUnlike beans however, even the bush types may do better with some support and\nrepay the extra work with a larger harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climbing peas\nthat don\u2019t have anything to climb will be very unhappy as they struggle along\nthe ground and will rarely produce well, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Install any\nsupport structure before you plant the seeds. Once they have germinated it\ntakes considerable finesse to install it without damaging\nthe young plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever type of\nsupport you use should be tall enough that your plants don\u2019t outgrow it and\nflop about. If they threaten to get too tall you can pinch out the growing tops\n(these are edible and very good). It should also be strong enough to bear the\nweight. The tangled full size vines and their load of peas can weigh quite a\nlot, especially when they get wet. A strong wind can cause additional stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas climb by means of slender tendrils and\nneed a thin structure to grab on to; they can\u2019t grow up thick poles. This means\nthey need a different kind of support from beans. A pea tendril will take about\nan hour to curl around a slender twig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In England peas were traditionally supported with tall branches of\nhazel shrubs (though any brushwood will work). These were trimmed to a flat 2\ndimensional plane so they could be placed close together in a row You just\nstick the butt ends firmly into the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can buy plastic netting that is specifically intended for use\nas plant trellis, but I find old wire fencing is more durable and easier to\nwork with. It can be fastened to a trellis or shaped into a self-supporting\ncage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are creative, you can rig up something from poles and\nstring or netting. You might then use it a second time for a following crop of\ncucumbers or melons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ordinary tomato cages (which aren\u2019t needed so early in the season)\ncan work to support bush peas, but aren\u2019t tall enough for the vining types. If\nyou make your own 6 ft tall tomato cages out of hog wire these will work for the\nvines. These also\nlook quite ornamental when covered in foliage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you intend to grow a lot of pole types,\nprobably the easiest field scale support consists of 8 of 10 ft metal T posts,\nwith a \u00bc\u02dd nylon rope along the top with horticultural netting (or wire fence\nnetting) wired to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inoculation<\/strong>: The nitrogen- fixing bacteria that live in\nnodules in pea roots can survive in the soil for 3 – 5 years. If you haven\u2019t\ngrown peas within that time, you should inoculate your seeds with a commercial\ninoculant. This can make a big difference to the amount of nitrogen that is\nfixed. This in turn may increase the yield of pods by as much as 75%. See Beans<\/strong> for more on seed inoculation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protection<\/strong>: In my experience spring peas are irresistibly attractive to birds and\nif you don\u2019t protect a planting it will be severely damaged. This means\ncovering the bed with bird netting until the plants are growing well. Don\u2019t put\nthe netting too close to the plants, otherwise they will quickly get entangled,\nmaking it hard to remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transplants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting inside<\/strong>: Peas are traditionally direct sown because they are hardy and\ndislike transplanting. However starting them indoors does have its advantages.\nIt allows you to get a very early start on the season, which can help you to\nget an early <\/p>\n\n\n\n

harvest. Perhaps more importantly it is easier to protect the\ngerminating seeds indoors, so you lose less to rodents and birds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas don\u2019t like transplanting, so to minimize root disturbance\nthey must be started in individual containers such as cell packs, or soil\nblocks. Start them about 3 – 4 weeks before planting out and don\u2019t forget to inoculate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t keep them indoors any longer than necessary, or they will\nsuffer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardening\noff<\/strong>: If you are putting your plants out early\ninto a cold garden it is important to harden them off properly. You do this by\nputting the plants outside for 2 hours on the first day, then 4 hours on the\nsecond day. Add 2 hours every day for a week. A simpler alternative is to put\nthem in a cold frame, which is opened for longer periods each day and closed at\nnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting out<\/strong>: This is pretty straightforward, just be careful not to disturb\ntheir roots while doing it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct sowing<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pea seeds will germinate over a wide\ntemperature range, but do so much faster in warm soil. At 40\u00b0F they may take\nover a month to germinate (if they don\u2019t rot, or get eaten in the meantime). At\n70\u00b0F they may take only a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil is dry you can speed up germination by pre-soaking the\nseeds for 4 hours before sowing. The best way to do this is to put them between\nmoist paper towels. Soaking them in a bowl of water can cause them to absorb\nwater too rapidly and may actually injure them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also pre-germinate the seeds to improve emergence in cold\nsoils. Do this by sprouting the seeds on paper towels in a warm place. Plant\nthem out as soon as the roots start to appear (don\u2019t wait too long).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget to erect your supporting structure before you plant\nyour seed, so you don\u2019t disturb\nthe young plants later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas are commonly planted in rows, as this simplifies the task of\nsupporting them. The traditional way to do this is to make furrows, as deep\n(usually 1\u02dd) and as far apart as required. Put the seed in the furrow at the\nrequired spacing and re-fill it with soil. Peas seed is quite vigorous and is\nnot usually bothered by crusting. It\u2019s a good idea to sow a few extra seeds at\nthe end of a row, so you have extra plants to fill in any gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bush peas can be planted at equidistant spacing right across the\nbed. Just lay out the seeds on the surface at the required spacing. When you\nare happy with this, push the seeds down to the proper depth with your finger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the soil is cold in early spring, plant your peas 1\u02dd deep (it\nwill be too cold down at 3\u02dd). Later plantings in warmer soil can go 2 – 3\u02dd deep\n(where it is cooler and\nmore evenly moist).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil isn\u2019t moist you need to water straight after planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing<\/strong>: This depends upon whether you are using bush or pole varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bush varieties<\/strong>: These short varieties don\u2019t need much support, so are commonly\nplanted in offset rows across the beds 4 – 6\u02dd apart each way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also plant them in rows down the bed. Put the seeds 2 – 3\u02dd\napart in the rows, with 24\u02dd in between\nthe rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pole varieties<\/strong>: Pole varieties are usually grown in rows because it is easier to\nsupport them. They are best planted in double offset rows, with 2 – 3\u02dd between\nthe plants and 6\u02dd between the rows. You can get two of these double rows in a\n5-foot wide bed (space them 24 – 30\u02dd apart).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeds<\/strong>: Weed the young plants carefully (preferably by hand), to avoid\ndamaging their shallow roots. Older plants are usually vigorous enough to overwhelm most weeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch<\/strong>: This is helpful to keep down weeds, keep the soil cool and conserve soil moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water<\/strong>: Peas need constantly moist\nsoil, but water is particularly important when they start to produce pods. If\nyou allow the plants to get dry during this time the harvest will decrease\ndramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cool spring weather peas usually get enough water from rainfall\nso that you don\u2019t have to irrigate.\nWatering at this time may encourage mildew and can actually reduce\nyields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil is dry by the time the flowers appear, you should give\nthem extra water. This improves the set of pods and hastens their maturation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feed<\/strong>: Generally peas don\u2019t need additional feeding, though if the soil\nis very poor the young plants might benefit from a feed of compost tea or liquid kelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests<\/strong>: Quite a few pests may attack peas, including aphids, tarnished\nplant bugs, cutworms, mites, leafminers, leafhoppers, cucumber beetles, pea\nweevils and various\ncaterpillars<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diseases<\/strong>: These include fusarium wilt, mosaic virus, blight, downy mildew,\npowdery mildew and pea enation\nvirus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mice and birds<\/strong>: These can be major pests and have been known to systematically\neat whole plantings (birds break off the new sprouts, mice eat the seed in the\nground). If mice are a problem there are repellent seed coatings available\n(kerosene was once commonly used). Netting can keep the plants safe from birds,\nbut it\u2019s a real pain\nto deal with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slugs and snails<\/strong>: These are mostly a pest of unsupported plants. They don\u2019t really\nlike peas very much, but will eat them if there\u2019s nothing better available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deer, rabbit, groundhog<\/strong>: All of\nthese animals enjoy the young plants and must be kept out with fences or dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas mature quickly\nafter pollination, so you have to check on the plants regularly (every day or\nso). This is particularly important as the weather warms up and they develop\nrapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must pick the\npods when they size up, even if you don\u2019t want to eat them, otherwise\nproduction will decline. In cool weather, a well managed planting may yield for\nas long as 6 weeks, though if the weather turns hot it may be as short as 2\nweeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find a lot of peas get eaten in the\ngarden, no matter what type they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shell\npeas<\/strong>: Fresh green shell peas seem to have disappeared from the diet of\nmost Americans as too much trouble. This is unfortunate as fresh peas in their\nprime are one of the great\ntreats of the spring garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: Picking peas at the right time is almost as important as it is\nwith sweet corn. Too early and they are very small, too late and they are\nstarchy and not very good. To determine the best time just taste them at\ndifferent stages and decide which is best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The peas will be ready to eat 3 – 4 weeks after blooming. They\nshould be just about full size in the pod (each pod contains 4 – 10 peas) and\nshould be very sweet (taste them). When they over-mature the pod turns leathery and the peas become\nstarchy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How<\/strong>: The pods start to ripen at the base of the plant first. Remove\nthem from the plants carefully, so you don\u2019t damage the vines. This is usually\na two handed job, you hold the plant with one hand and pull down on the pod with the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snap\npeas<\/strong>: These should be picked as soon as the peas reach full size and\nthe pod is nice and fat and round. Taste them to see if they are ready, they\nshould be sweet, crisp and\nsucculent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the pods have a string down each side, the best technique is to\nsnap off the pod by bending it to one side. This breaks the pod but not the\nstrings, so if you then pull on the pod, it will peel off the strings and leave them attached to the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snow\npeas<\/strong>: These should be picked after the pods have reached full size,\nbut before the peas inside start to swell. Don\u2019t make the common mistake of\nharvesting smaller pods in the belief they will be better. They may be tender\nbut they won\u2019t be very\nsweet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry\npeas<\/strong>: To get dry peas simply allow the pods to ripen and dry fully on\nthe vines. You can gather small quantities of pods individually, but for larger\nharvests pick the whole plants and lay them on a tarp to dry. Carefully thresh\nout the seeds to free them from the pods and dry them thoroughly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dry pea should shatter when crushed. If you can make a mark with\nyour fingernail it isn\u2019t dry enough. An easy way to see if they are dry enough\nis to put a few in a closed jar for a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If condensation forms on the inside of the jar, they are still too moist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage<\/strong>: The sugar in shell and snap peas begins to turn to starch soon\nafter harvesting, so they don\u2019t store well. For this reason they should be used\npromptly for best flavor. If you have to store them, put them in the fridge in\na plastic bag for up to 2 weeks. The best way to store them for any length of time is to freeze\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can store properly dry peas in any cool dry place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After harvest<\/strong>: Cut the plants down to ground level, leaving the nodulated roots\nin the ground to rot. You can compost the tops, or just dig them into the soil.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed saving<\/strong>: Peas are\none of the easiest crops to save seed from. They are self-pollinating, though a\nsmall amount of insect pollination may also occur. Ideally you will have only\none variety flowering at a time. You can also isolate flowering varieties by at least 150 feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dry weather all you have to do is leave the pods to mature and\ndry on the vine. In wet weather you may have to cut the vines and dry them\nunder cover. When the pods are crisp and brown remove the seeds. These should\nbe dried further and\nstored in a cool dry place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusual\ngrowing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green manure<\/strong>: Bush peas are a very good cool weather green manure crop for\nsoil enrichment. This will\nalso give you more edible leafy tips than you could ever eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pea greens<\/strong>: Peas can also be grown specifically for their leafy green tips,\nwhich are very good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can start harvesting the first growing tips when the plants\nare about 12\u02dd tall. This will cause them to branch out and get bushier. Keep on\nharvesting the new tips as they are produced. They are best used immediately\nafter picking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cheapest place to buy pea seed is at an agricultural supply\nstore, where you can buy them in bulk by the pound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bush peas start to bear earlier than the pole types, but the\nlatter give a more abundant and longer harvest. Many gardeners plant both types\nto get the best of both worlds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peas can be separated into several quite distinct group, depending upon their purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden Peas<\/strong>: These seeds are wrinkled when dry because they contain more\nsugar and less starch (like sweet corn). They are intended for use as green\nfresh shell peas, but can also be used as somewhat inferior dried peas. There\nare early, mid-season and late varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bush types<\/strong>: These are bred to grow without staking and to produce a\nlot of pods in a short Time, which are useful traits for commercial growers.\nThey <\/p>\n\n\n\n

also tend to be\nearlier. Most new pea varieties are bush types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green\nArrow <\/strong>– Fine flavor (68 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laxtons\nProgress<\/strong> – Old\nBritish heirloom (63 days)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little\nmarvel<\/strong> – Small\nproductive plants (65 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pole types<\/strong>: These are better suited to home\ngrowing as they produce over a longer period. They do need supporting however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alderman<\/strong> – Very tall, fine flavor (78 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Champion\nof England<\/strong> – To\n10 ft tall and very productive (60 – 75 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petit\npois<\/strong>: As the name suggests these originated in France and are the\n\u2018gourmet pea\u2019. They are green shell peas, harvested when still very small and\nsweet. As you might expect from a French food they are superior in flavor and texture to other\ntypes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet\nProvence<\/strong> – High\nquality (65 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waverex<\/strong> – Very sweet, bush type (65 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sugar\npeas<\/strong>: These originated in China and are the original edible podded\npeas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon\nGiant <\/strong>– Large\npods, mildew resistant bush (70 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon\nSugar Pod II<\/strong> –\nProductive and adaptable bush type (68 days). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snap Peas<\/strong>: A more recently developed edible-podded pea, this one originated\nin America. The pod is thicker and more succulent than that of the snow pea.\nThese are probably now the most popular home garden pea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

varieties, because there is no work in shelling and very little waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Super\nSugar Snap<\/strong> – The best known variety. A mildew\nresistant vine (60 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amish\nSnap<\/strong> – I once read an article in Organic Gardening magazine about how\nthe original Sugar Snap pea was painstakingly developed. They could have just\nstarted with this old heirloom, as it is almost identical (60 – 70 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magnolia\nBlossom Snap<\/strong> – Purple\nflowers and extra tendrils, tall vine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soup or Field Peas<\/strong>: These <\/p>\n\n\n\n

varieties are hardier than the garden peas and are starchy, rather\nthan sweet. They are grown\nas protein rich dry peas for use in soups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaska – Can be eaten as shell peas too (56 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue\nPod <\/strong>– Dutch\nheirloom vine (85 days)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early\npeas<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sugar\nbon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burpeana\nearly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maestro\n– Bush<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little\nmarvel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sugar\ndaddy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mid\nseason peas<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cascadia\n– Bush<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mammoth\nmelting sugar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon\nGiant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon\nsugar pod ll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lincoln<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Super\nsnappy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late\npeas<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green\narrow <\/strong>– Bush<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wando\n<\/strong>– Bush<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alderman<\/strong> – Pole<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowflake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green shell peas, snow peas and snap peas are all excellent raw,\nsteamed or stir-fried. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tender pea greens (the leafy tips of the\nplants) can be eaten raw in salads, or sauteed in olive oil with onion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flowers can be added to salads<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pea recipe<\/strong>  
My family prefer snap peas raw, rather than cooked. This simple recipe is good though.  
1 lb snap peas
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
\u215b cup soy sauce
\u00bc tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp tahini  
Remove ends of pea pods and spread them on a baking tray pan. Mix
garlic into oil and pour over the pods. Broil in oven for 5 minutes until
cooked. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and tahini to make a sauce to pour over the cooked pods.   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pisum sativum Introduction: This crop originated somewhere in central Asia about 8000 years ago and is now cultivated all around the world. In their dry state peas are a highly … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[240],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seed-veg","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/pea.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1737,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions\/1737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}