English or garden peas
are frost hardy, thrive and like to be planted in cool weather (55
to 60°F) They can become bitter
with heat. Therefore, plant
outdoors in full sun, in early spring for an early summer harvest or
mid to late summer for a fall harvest. Plant the seeds 1½ inches deep spacing
them at a rate of one to two seeds every two inches. Space the rows 2½ feet
apart.
As a rule, smooth seeded
varieties are more starchy and used for soups while wrinkled seeded varieties are
sweeter and generally eaten fresh.
Dwarf
Gray Sugar Pod 60 to 70 days — The plants have attractive flowers, are
prolific producers of nice, sweet pods, bushy and the eighteen to
twenty four inch vines do not typically require staking.
This is a variety that is at least as old as the 1770s and was
commercially released in 1892 by D. M. Ferry and Company.
Mammoth
Melting
75 days — The vines reach five feet or more and should be
trellised. It is high yielding, thrives in cool weather, and
is uniform in production. Pods are very sweet and tender and
stay that way even after they reach three inches or more and the seeds
start to fill out. Truly "mammoth"!
Oregon
Giant 70 days - Developed by
Dr. Baggett of Oregon State University and released in
1991. Peas are wrinkle seeded. Plants grow up to about
three feet tall and start producing early in the season and
continue for a long time. Very productive. Pods are
flat, 4½ to five inches long, and sweet.
Resistant to pea enation mosaic virus, powdery mildew, and
fusarium wilt race 1.
Oregon Sugar Pod
II
68 days — Succulent pods filled with semi-wrinkled seeds on plant
that are 2½ feet in height. Improved resistance to wilt and powdery mildew.
Developed by
Dr. Baggett of Oregon State University and released in
1985. Resistant to pea enation mosaic virus, powdery
mildew, and fusarium wilt race 1.
Alaska
(Earliest of All)
55 days — This variety was introduced in 1881 in England
as 'Earliest of All', by pea breeder Thomas
Laxton. A cross of 'Ringleader' and 'Little Gem', it
became the parent of many subsequent varieties. First
offered in the United States in 1882 by J. J. H. Gregory and was
in several seed catalogs by 1883. It seems that it was
renamed in 1884 by A. B. Cleveland of Cape Vincent, New York and
given away as a premium for subscriptions to the periodical The
Rural New Yorker. The name stuck.
The plants are
twenty four to thirty six inches tall and grow well in
cool soils. There are typically five to eight smooth peas in each round
pod. Classically used for canning or freezing, also fine fresh or dry (in
eighty days) for soups.
Not a super sweet variety. Seeds are smooth.
The vines are vigorous, thirty six to forty eight inches tall with
heavy yields of three-inch pods containing seven to eight peas.
High sugar content - seeds are wrinkled. They should be
trellised for best results. Resistant to fusarium wilt and
exhibits a tolerance to root rot.
Green
Arrow 70 days — Popular with commercial processors and home gardeners as it has high
yields and freezes well. It also has an excellent flavor and exhibits disease
resistance. Ideal for shelling and eating fresh.
Pods average about four inches in length with nine to eleven peas.
Laxton's
Progress Number 9
60 days — Namedafter
the famous 19th century plant breeder, Thomas
Laxton. An improved
variety of ‘Laxton’s Progress’ and a leading home garden
pea. Eighteen to twenty four inch plants, six to nine tasty, sweet, large, peas per pod.
Seeds are wrinkled.
Lincoln
(Homesteader)
68 days — Does well in the
Northern United States, resists wilt and is tolerant of heat. The
vines are eighteen to thirty inches tall and the pods are easy to shell.
Lincoln was one of the better post-war varieties and continued in
commercial production until the mid-1960s.
Little Marvel
64 days — A most satisfactory pea in the home garden.
The plants are compact, up to thirty inches tall, very productive, hardy, luscious and sugary.
Small pods whose peas stay tender and sweet even when fully ripe
and filling the pod as in the photo to the left.
It was
released by Sutton & Sons of Reading, England in 1900 and was
first sold in the United States by J. J. H. Gregory in 1908.
Sutton stated that the parentage of was 'Chelsea
Gem' and Sutton's 'A-1'.
Raisin
Pea (Monk Pea) 90 days -
This is an heirloom used to make pea soup. It was reportedly
grown and preserved for centuries by monks in the Netherlands.
The peas are brown with a rough, wrinkled, raisin-like texture.
Tall
Telephone
75 days — ‘Tall Telephone’, also referred to as ‘Alderman’,
was a selection of 'Telegraph'. It is
a main crop variety and requires support as it will climb to about
six feet.
The pods are large (up to
six inches) containing eight to
nine peas
each. Very productive and good for fresh eating or freezing. Introduced by Carter of London in 1878.
Thomas
Laxton
75 days — Bred as a cross between 'Gradus' and 'Alaska'
by Thomas
Laxton and released in 1898. Does well in maritime conditions and it is
wilt resistant. Peas are bright green, excellent quality,
and high in sugar content. Pods grow to about 3½ inches
filling with six to eight peas.
Wando
70 days — Although it is resistant to the effects of
heat and therefore used for late sowings, it also pollinates well
under cooler conditions. The plant is sturdy, grows up to
thirty
inches, is high yielding and produces seven or more seeds per
pod.
Developed by the Southeastern Vegetable Breeding Laboratory ('Laxton's
Progress' x 'Perfection'), it was released in 1943.
A good variety for freezing, home and market gardens.
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