Pea Growing, 2022

[meadow]

Peas, peas, glorious peas!

Which varieties are you growing this year?

Which have you grown in the past, or plan to grow in the future?

Any strategies or tips? Ways to use or preserve the crop?

Speak to us of peas!

 

[meadow]

I'm trialing several varieties against each other this year, most are new-to-me:

The snap peas were started in soil blocks nearly 3 weeks ago and it is a joy to see them doing so well in the garden. I'd forgotten how quickly pea tap roots develop and won't be starting them in soil blocks again.

Sugar Snap (Johnny's strain; backstory)​

Super Sugar Snap​

Cascadia​

Local wisdom is "peas in by Presidents Day", so my shelling and snow peas are a bit behind schedule. They were planted outside yesterday after <24 hours in moist towels. One variety had already sprouted! Although I neglected to take notes, I believe it was the third one planted which would make it Lillian's Caseload. Snow peas alternate with shelling peas in the row so that I can (hopefully) tell them apart when harvesting.

Shelling:​

Homesteader, aka Lincoln​

Lillian's Caseload​

Waverex Petit Pois​

Snow:​

Ho Lan Dow​

Dwarf Grey Sugar​

Oregon Giant Snow Pea​

I've never grown soup peas before. Thanks to @Zeedman's suggestion in the bean thread, and @jbosmith for posting his plans yesterday (since I'd forgotten to place my order)!

Retrija​

Roveja, aka Umbrian Wild Pea​

 

[digitS']

Wonderful trials, Meadow!

Our springs make for good pea country. Usually! 2021 was a real exception with those all-time record high temperatures in late June. Powdery Mildew will likely take the plants out by midsummer but I have the habit of removing them by that time. Only once, that I can remember, have I had problems with Downy Mildew. However, by midsummer, there are plenty of bags of peas in the freezer .

I've not grown dry peas but, as you probably know , the Palouse area of WA/ID is the "dry pea & lentil capital" of the US. Probably a shame that I don't grow them because I like the soup! I have had weevil problems with saved pea seed so ... I'd need to learn how to deal with those pests.

Never have I set out pea starts but I'm sure that it should work okay. Snow pea seeds will be sown again about the 1st of August for a fall crop. This often doesn't work because hard frost will kill pea flowers but we will be enjoying the tendrils before (sometimes "& after") frost danger.

I consider growing dwarf varieties as a waste of time. NOT a waste of time for production but a waste of time for trellising - that was necessary each time dwarves were grown - may as well grow taller varieties ...

My choices aren't very unusual or varied. Sugar Snap, Mammoth Melting, Oregon Giant Snow or Oregon Sugar Pod, and Green Arrow for shelling.

Steve

 

[meadow]

I've not grown dry peas but, as you probably know , the Palouse area of WA/ID is the "dry pea & lentil capital" of the US. Probably a shame that I don't grow them because I like the soup! I have had weevil problems with saved pea seed so ... I'd need to learn how to deal with those pests.

I did not know that about the Palouse area! That is very interesting. By the way, in the bean thread there has been mention of freezing seed to deal with weevils. I think for 3 days?

I see that you will be growing Mammoth Melting. I saw a pea called "Mammoth Melting Sugar" from Heritage Farm and I'm wondering if they are the same thing. Does yours match their description?

Vines grow 3-4.5' in height. Standard vigor, high productivity. White flowers. Normal leaves. Green, straight pods become round. Non-edible pods. Best used as a soup pea with a smooth texture and buttery, slightly sweet flavor. Mature pods average 2.5 long by 0.5 wide. Smooth, round, cream-colored seeds. Late maturing.

When searching just now, it looks like there is a snow pea "Mammoth Melting" and a snow pea "Mammoth Melting Sugar" (perhaps the same pea), but they have edible pods.. and no mention of soup. Heritage Farm's pea has non-edible pods.

There is probably a very simple explanation.

 

[digitS']

Well, here's a simple (mindless) response.

I don't know ... ... But no, they have light purple flowers and the seed was given to my wife a few years ago. We might have been told what they are OR I guessed during the last few years because they have such large vines.

We often have several dozen feet of trellised pea beds (or more!) but grow only a few of these plants.

Doing a little internet research - perhaps they are Green Beauty snow peas.

Steve

 

[jbosmith]

I loooove Schweizer Riesen for fresh eating. They're a giant snow pea and I think 'Swiss Giant' is the same thing. This is where I get mine (no affiliation other than a customer): https://solsticeseeds.org/product/pea-pod-schweizer-riesen/

FWIW we also had a poor pea year last year but the people who transplanted their starts did much better than those of us who just soaked and planted the dry peas. I often transplant my beans for different reasons, and the key with those is to plant them as soon as the leaves appear so the roots can't bunch.

 

[AMKuska]

I have a huge bag of Cascadia peas, but I actually planted them in the fall to fix nitrogen in the soil. The deer ate all the peas so I didn't get a single one, but they lasted well into December before the last one died. My efforts to fix nitrogen in the soil with peas seem to have failed however, since soil testing revealed low nitrogen in the soil.

 

[meadow]

Doing a little internet research - perhaps they are Green Beauty snow peas.

DD grew Green Beauty last year and speaks highly of it. Sounds like one I'll have to try! (plus I'm a sucker for purple flowers)

I loooove Schweizer Riesen for fresh eating. They're a giant snow pea and I think 'Swiss Giant' is the same thing.

Oh! That one sounds really good, and the flowers are so pretty! It looks like you're right about them being the same pea. One of my suppliers carries it and mentions "An heirloom native to Switzerland, the name translates as “Swiss Giant”. "

I often transplant my beans for different reasons, and the key with those is to plant them as soon as the leaves appear so the roots can't bunch.

I think that may be the key to pea taproots too; whisk them right out into the garden as soon as the leaves appear. I haven't had any trouble with beans in 2" soil blocks. Having said that, I've probably jinxed them!

I have a huge bag of Cascadia peas, but I actually planted them in the fall to fix nitrogen in the soil. The deer ate all the peas so I didn't get a single one, but they lasted well into December before the last one died. My efforts to fix nitrogen in the soil with peas seem to have failed however, since soil testing revealed low nitrogen in the soil.

What a shame!

 

[Zeedman]

FWIW we also had a poor pea year last year but the people who transplanted their starts did much better than those of us who just soaked and planted the dry peas. I often transplant my beans for different reasons, and the key with those is to plant them as soon as the leaves appear so the roots can't bunch.

Over time, I'm finding that transplants solve a lot of bean & pea issues, so am using more of them. I normally use peat or other permeable pots for legumes (most often Jiffy 32's or equivalent) with extra holes punched into the bottom. If I anticipate that a legume will be spending more time in the pots, I add a layer of sand in the bottom of the tray, and nestle the pots into the sand. The sand acts as a moisture reservoir, and allows the tap root & other long roots to grow without being air pruned. Those extra roots - if handled carefully & not allowed to dry out - greatly reduce transplant shock, and get the plants off to a quick start. Sand does add weight though, so those trays need to be handled carefully to avoid collapse.

I'll be starting peas as transplants this year primarily due to seed age... but also to give them a better chance to set seed before the heat sets in. Heat caused two of my peas to die prematurely last year. I'll be starting favas as transplants too, in an attempt to get ahead of the heat.

Oddly, I've had more problems with peas crossing than beans - and spent 3 years cleaning up one of those varieties. So I've increased the isolation distance to 50', which reduces the number of seed crops I can grow in one year (downsizing the rural garden didn't help either):

Limestone (snow)
Sugar Lace (snap)
Blackeyed Susan (shell)

Bill Jump (soup)
Golderbse (soup)
Gruno Rosyn (soup)
Vantana Matar (soup)

Prebohaty (soup, backup)

Some of those peas are from 2012, so will grow those using rescue protocols. I can only grow 3/4 of the soup peas, and will use Prebohaty to replace any failures.

Green Arrow is a great shelling pea, it is really productive & and I miss growing it. Maybe next year, if I can get at least partially caught up with my preservation grow outs...

 

[jbosmith]

Over time, I'm finding that transplants solve a lot of bean & pea issues, so am using more of them. I normally use peat or other permeable pots for legumes (most often Jiffy 32's or equivalent) with extra holes punched into the bottom. If I anticipate that a legume will be spending more time in the pots, I add a layer of sand in the bottom of the tray, and nestle the pots into the sand. The sand acts as a moisture reservoir, and allows the tap root & other long roots to grow without being air pruned. Those extra roots - if handled carefully & not allowed to dry out - greatly reduce transplant shock, and get the plants off to a quick start. Sand does add weight though, so those trays need to be handled carefully to avoid collapse.

This will be my first year transplanting peas, but with beans I start most of mine in 72 cell trays. The heavy duty ones from Bootstrap Farmer cost a lot upfront but I've been using them for multiple years now and they're still like new. If I'm trying to save something really old that is going to come up unpredictably I use the following. Things have to get pretty overgrown before they'll wrap around those. I also use these and only these for pepper plants because their tops will be way overcrowded before the roots wrap at all.

38 Count Seedling Tray – VAS Agricultural Supply, Inc

vasagricultural.com

With the 72 cell trays, I start them less than a week before I intend to plant them. The leaves are often still uncurling when they go into the ground. I mostly care about getting around cool ground germination problems because my growing season is too short to just wait til mid-June like people in slightly warmer climates do.

I'll be starting peas as transplants this year primarily due to seed age... but also to give them a better chance to set seed before the heat sets in. Heat caused two of my peas to die prematurely last year. I'll be starting favas as transplants too, in an attempt to get ahead of the heat.

In my semi-limited experience, favas do surprisingly well in hot temperatures if you can keep their roots cool with moisture and mulch (without drowning them). I had some last all season a few years ago and when I cut them down in the fall they sent up new sprouts from the roots!

Oddly, I've had more problems with peas crossing than beans - and spent 3 years cleaning up one of those varieties. So I've increased the isolation distance to 50', which reduces the number of seed crops I can grow in one year (downsizing the rural garden didn't help either):

I've heard others say that peas get around a little more than most people think. I'm only growing 3 isolated varieties that I plan to save seed from this year and the rest will be trials in the community garden plot

Limestone (snow)
Sugar Lace (snap)
Blackeyed Susan (shell)

Bill Jump (soup)
Golderbse (soup)
Gruno Rosyn (soup)
Vantana Matar (soup)

Prebohaty (soup, backup)

Some of those peas are from 2012, so will grow those using rescue protocols. I can only grow 3/4 of the soup peas, and will use Prebohaty to replace any failures.

Green Arrow is a great shelling pea, it is really productive & and I miss growing it. Maybe next year, if I can get at least partially caught up with my preservation grow outs...

That's a great list! I second Green Arrow being awesome too.