GROWING PEAS

  • Most snap peas can be grown in containers, but they will always be more productive when planted in ground.
    A 5 gallon pot would be a good size.

  • Any pea vine 4 feet or taller will do best planted in ground.

  • All pea vines benefit from support. Tall pea vines require support.

  • Mix some general purpose fertilizer and bone meal into the soil before planting.

  • Peas don’t mind growing close together, so you can plant them as a clump directly from the container without separating the plants (which will help avoid transplant shock). Individual plants should be placed 2 or 3 inches apart.

  • Harvest snow peas when mature size but still flat. Harvest snap peas when swelled (but not over ripe or they will become tough). Be sure to harvest frequently to keep the plants producing.

PLEASE NOTE: The plants on my farm table have NOT been hardened off. They are straight from the greenhouse.
You can do one of the following:
1. Expose them gradually to outdoor conditions over a week
-OR (as I do)-
2. Plant them immediately and give them protection from excess sun, wind, and rain for a week or two.

Pea vine support

For snap pea support, I’m trying a new thing this year — layers of horizontal 4 inch netting. I was reading comments at Tomatoville that mentioned production being higher for both peas and tomatoes using that method. I’ll be setting up tomato plants the same way using 6 inch netting.

SNOW PEA
Avalanche
60 days. High-yielding snow pea. Vines 36” high.
Open pollinated. A versatile, dark green snow pea that can be picked at 3 3/4", or as small as 2 1/2", depending on your preference and market. Very productive in our trials with a nice, manageable plant habit. The 36", Afila-type vines produce an abundance of tendrils for garnishes. 1 to 2 pods per node. High resistance to Fusarium wilt race 1. (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

SNAP PEA
Sugar Ann
51 days. Our earliest snap pea. 20” vines.
Open pollinated. A much-loved variety that always comes through for us in the early season with uniform crops of delicious, 2–2 1/2" long peas. Maturity is exceptionally early, with a concentrated set on 20" dwarf vines with 1 to 2 pods per node. Remove string from pods before cooking. AAS winner. (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

SNAP PEA
Little Snap Pea Crunch
60 days. Small crops but huge flavor! Squeeze this one into your small garden or container planting, and you’ll be rewarded with early harvests of lots of lofty pea shoots for salads followed by sweet, fresh snap peas well into the warm weather. The compact plants yield smooth, crispy, refreshing pods on self-supporting plants that reach up to 30 inches tall (probably 24 inches if container grown). This is the first year I have grown this variety. Since I have a small garden, compact plants are always appealing. (Territorial Seed)

SNAP PEA
PL141
60 days. An enormous snap pea, with pods nearly double the size of Super Sugar Snap in our trials! Strong, vigorous vines produce lots of beautiful white blooms followed by the 4 to 4 1/2 inch plump, slightly curved, sweet, mild-flavored pods. Vines are 3 to 4 feet tall. (Territorial Seed)

SNAP PEA
Cascadia
60 days. Another great variety bred in the Northwest. This enation-resistant snap pea comes to us from Dr. Jim Baggett at Oregon State University. The short, 32-inch vines yield an abundance of dark green 3 1/2 inch pods that are thick, juicy, and very sweet. (Territorial Seed)

SNAP PEA
Sugar Daddy
65 days. If you’re looking for a genuinely stringless snap pea, Sugar Daddy is your man! The uniform, 24 inch tall plants are self-supporting and produce tender, sweet, 3 inch pods that are delicious in salads, stir-fries, or just straight off the vine. (Renee’s Garden)

SNAP PEA
Super Sugar Snap
58 days. This improved variety sets plumper pods earlier in the season, with remarkably higher yields, and far better disease resistance than its predecessor, Sugar Snap. Enjoy the exceptionally heavy harvests of sweet, thick-walled, stringless pods. Super Sugar Snap’s vigorous, healthy vines average about 5 feet tall. (Territorial Seed)

SNAP/SNOW PEA
Opal Creek
70 days. A unique cross of a golden snow pea and a green snap pea, Opal Creek blends the mild, flattened pods of a snow pea with the tender crunch and hint of sweet of a snap pea in a beautiful yellow package. Tall, 5 to 6 foot vines produce abundant harvest of the delicious pods. Bred by Dr. Alan Kapuler and named for the Opal Creek Wilderness Area. You will wait longer for these peas, and the tall vines definitely need support, but they are well worth it. Unusual golden, slightly flattened pods. (Territorial Seed)

Descriptions are from the seed company catalogs.
These are the varieties offered on the farm table in 2024.