Many varieties of peas are available to backyard gardeners. Fruits differ in flavor and size. A few varieties of peas are ready for harvest earlier than others. A variety of pea seeds can even be purchased from some seed companies today. For a small investment and minimal space commitment, this is an excellent method for sampling many different plants.
The variety of peas we’ve sampled has made them one of our favorite dishes. We encourage you to try a variety of peas to find out which one you prefer. Some of the most common pea types are included below, as well as descriptions of the plants and pods.
When it comes to “days till ready to be picked,” there are a few things to bear in mind. Seeds germinate in warm soil within a week, while the process might take up to a month in colder soil.
1. Traditional Garden Peas
Traditional garden peas have an inedible pod and necessitate the removal of the peas from the pod prior to consumption. On average, each pod of these shelled peas contains roughly six luscious green peas. They mature in 60 days and have a pleasantly sweet flavor. The vines can reach a height of two feet. There are 8 peas in each pod, and the vines cling to one other closely, reaching a height of 2 feet. 70 days after planting, it is ready to eat.
2. Pea Pods
Pea pods from Thomas Laxton are average 8-9 large, plump dark-green peas in length and height of 4 inches and 3 feet, respectively. They have flavors of toasted nuts and almonds.
3. Wando
When cultivated, Wando yields pods that contain 7-8 medium-sized peas, each of which can be frozen or dried and is slightly pleasant. Peas planted in autumn benefit from Wando, which can reach a height of 2 1/2 feet.
With English peas, gardeners in cold climates can choose between the hardy variety tom thumb and the more heat-resistant variety Wando. Both are excellent choices. Summer peas can be grown using these plants, which are suited for hotter climates.
As an heirloom pea variety, Wando peas were introduced in the 1940s. To eat these peas fresh or frozen, the shells must be removed. Staking and a support system are required because the plants can reach six feet in height.
4. Garden Sweet
This is one of the best-tasting garden peas, with pods measuring 3 1/2 inches long and containing 9 to 10 medium-sized peas. Garden Sweet is available in 75 days. It produces enormous, dark green pods with an average of 9-10 extra-large peas per pod and are ready in 60 days, reach a height of 4 feet, and have a pleasant flavor.
Medium-sized, delicious, drought-resistant, and prolific, early perfection shelled peas are ready in 65 days. Crescent-shaped pods contain 8 to 9 delicate peas.
5. Maestro Peas
Maestro peas mature in 60 days and produce pods with 10-11 medium-sized peas in each. This is a great option for a fall harvest because it has a subtle sweetness. This variety of pea produces an average of 7-8 pounds of large, tender, and delectable peas, which can be frozen.
6. Little Marvel
With the Little Marvel type, pods are an average of 3 feet long and contain 7-8 medium-sized peas that are sweet and tender. Short plants reach a maximum height of 20 inches and mature in 60 days, with pods that average 3 inches in length. Disease-resistant, juicy, and plump, the peas are also plentiful from a single plant.
Little Marvel peas are small yet mighty. The plants’ peas produce a considerable volume and have a pleasant flavor. They’ve been a popular heirloom plant since the early 1900s because of their ability to thrive in home gardens. The ‘Little Marvel’ English pea shrub does not need a stake. These plants do well in small gardens and pots.
7. Flat-Pod Peas
It is possible to eat the flat-pod peas, commonly known as sugar peas, fresh or cooked. Stir-fries frequently feature snow peas.
8. Snow Peas
Plants achieve an average height of 18″ and an average length of 3″ after 60 days, making this variety a prolific producer. The pods are arranged in groups of two or three, and they’re very tasty.
9. Gray Sugar
In 65 days, Gray Sugar, an old-fashioned type of snow pea, can produce 3″ long, sensitive pods that reach a height of 18″ on plants that develop to a height of 2 feet tall. Instead, it is 75 days away from maturity and develops to a height of 2 feet, producing pods that are 3 inches long and delicious and soft.
10. Oregon Sugar Pods
To be ready in just 70 days, the high-yielding variety known as Oregon Sugar Pods grows to a height of 2 feet and a width of 4 1/2 inches on average. In just 70 days, the pods of Oregon Sugar are ready to harvest. Sweet and tender, this variety is a real treat.
11. Mammoth Melting Sugar
Because of their enormous, thick pods (average length of 5 1/2 inches), the Mammoth Melting Sugar heritage variety holds up well to slow cooking methods and has a sweet flavor that goes along with the large, thick pods and their hefty size and thick pods.
12. Avalanche
Snow pea variety Avalanche produces huge, dark green pods that are tasty and soft, ready in about 60 days, disease-resistant and prolific, with plants that can grow up to 3 feet tall. Snap peas are a great choice for folks who enjoy their vegetables raw or cooked because they come in an edible pod and are juicy and flavorful. You can either eat them raw or boil them.
13. Sugar Bon
Sugar Bon’s pods develop to a maximum of 3 inches in length in 55 days, and the plants can reach a height of 2 feet, making them disease-resistant and simple to grow.
14. Sugar Ann’s Peas
In addition to being ready in 55 days and disease-resistant, Sugar Ann’s peas contain an average of seven peas.
Pea Varieties for the Home Gardener
Many varieties of peas can be found in seed catalogs. That’s a lot to consider! If you’re unsure about what to plant in your home garden, consider some of the best home garden pea kinds.
It is possible to grow different varieties of peas. Because there are so many varieties of peas to pick from, it’s a good idea to try something new. If you don’t know where to start, here are a few of the most popular options. If you plan to grow your own, it’s important to know the differences.
15. English Peas
English peas, often known as garden or shelling peas, do not have edible pods. The peas must first swell up before you can consume them. Picking hundreds of pea pods, despite the fact that these are some of the fastest-growing varieties, still requires some effort.
A snow pea’s pods are similar to those used in stir-fry dishes, and they can be found in the snow. The seeds in the pods are not allowed to swell prior to harvest. This kind of peas is more difficult to grow than other cultivars.
16. Sugar Snap Peas
Sugar snap peas, a cross between English peas and snow peas, are a great snack. When you eat the pods, you don’t need to remove the seeds; they grow. There is nothing better than this type of pea if you want the best of both worlds.
A “hyper-tendril” snap pea plant has fewer leaves on its tendrils than other varieties; hence it’s referred to as such. Because of this, your pea plants will develop in an open, airy manner that is better for ventilation and less likely to contract diseases.
The flavor of these snap peas is out of this world. They’re great in salads and stir-fries. On the other hand, they also go well with a dip. These plants, which can reach a height of eight feet, require staking. Sweet snap peas are a wonderful investment because they yield a lot of them. Because of the vines’ bi-colored flowers, they are suitable for use as houseplant decorations.
Snap peas, 3 inches long, are one of the most popular snap pea varieties. This one is also a prolific grower with vines that can reach six feet tall. These peas are only available from the Burpee Seed Company, which has a 65-day ripening time and an average of 9 peas per pod. The vines can reach a height of three feet and are resistant to illness. This sugar snap pea variety is sweeter than the original sugar snap, available in 65 days, and produces a large number of pods that are on average 3 inches long. The plants can also grow up to 6 feet tall.
17. Alaska Garden Peas
It is possible to grow Alaska garden peas, a kind that thrives in short growing seasons if you are looking for an early variety. These plants have vines that are lengthy and generate large crops. Be there for them, but don’t forget to lend a hand.
Alaska peas, an English heirloom type, were first introduced in the 1880s and are still popular today. As an alternative to some of the more sugary garden peas, this is an excellent choice.
18. Avola Peas
It is cold-hardy and matures early in the English pea cultivar ‘Avola,’ which grows on compact two-foot-tall plants. It’s a great choice for small-space and container planting, as well. Despite their short stature, Avola pea plants produce large amounts of delicate pods carrying up to eight sweet peas. I recommend planting these in the spring or fall.
19. Canoe
After 70 days of maturation, canoe peas are ready to be harvested, and their pods are full of peas. As many as 12 pods might be found in one sweet pea pod. They get their name from the distinctive shape of the pods. The stems of this highly productive English cultivar have nearly no leaves. Because the peas aren’t large, they don’t need a lot of support.
20. Capucigner
Capuchin monks developed the heritage English pea variety known today as Capucigner in the 1500s. The plants’ purple-blue pods contain olive-green peas. If you’re looking for a beautiful addition to your yard, this white-pink flowering shrub is an excellent choice.
21. Desiree Dwarf
Desiree Dwarf pea plants, which are tiny and bushy, bear beautiful violet-blue pods. Due to their lack of stake or support requirements, they’re perfect for small gardens and containers.
English pea pods, sometimes known as garden peas, can be harvested while they’re as little as snow pea pods. Peas that have had time to mature taste better in soups and stews.
22. Green Beauty
‘Green Beauty’ is a 60-day-harvesting snow pea cultivar. This snow pea type is the fastest-growing and produces the largest pods. Pods can grow to a length of eight inches when fully grown. Sweet and savory, these peas are among the best on the market.
These plants are resilient and produce a lot of fruit. Make sure you have enough support for the vines, which can grow up to eight feet in height.
23. Hurst Green Shaft
Hurst Green Shaft produces long-pod sweet peas with high yields. Ten to twelve beans can be harvested from each pod over the long growth season. To ward off the two most destructive plant diseases—downy mildew and fusarium wilt—the plants produce pods from June through July.
24. Kelvedon Wonder
Kelvedon Wonder English peas are known for their early maturity and large yields. In the spring and summer, these peas are great candidates for succession planting because they are resistant to a number of common pea diseases.
Kelvedon Wonder is a two-foot-tall plant that thrives in full sun. In pots or tiny gardens, it doesn’t require staking or support because it’s a dwarf variety. Pods containing up to eight peas can be harvested from these plants, which produce large amounts of pods.
25. Lincoln Peas
Lincoln peas are a popular plant variety. An English family heirloom was brought to the United States in the early 1900s. It is well-known in the gardening community that ‘Lincoln’ pea plants produce enormous harvests of high-quality peas.
To grow Lincoln peas in the southern states, you need a variety that can withstand higher temperatures than other varieties. The seeds are easier to remove from the pods and vines if they are tightly packed. This kind of pea does exceptionally well in containers because of its compact size.
26. Terrain
Another well-known pea variety is this one, as is the case here. The ‘Terrain’ cultivar produces pods with up to eight sweet peas in them. The plants produce peas for months at a time. They’re well-known for their resistance to diseases common to peas, including downy mildew and fusarium wilt. It’s a great idea to grow this English variety in one row after another.
27. Tom Thumb
‘Tom Thumb’ is hands down the best English pea variety for container gardening. Because the plants are only nine inches tall, no staking or supporting is required. Despite its diminutive stature, this pea plant thrives in a wide range of environments.
When picked young, “Tom Thumb” shelling peas are sweet and delicate, in contrast to other shelling pea kinds. For early spring or late fall cold-frame cultivation, they’re a great choice. Planting the pea variety Tom Thumb, one of the hardiest available, is a good idea. This plant was first grown in England in the 1850s and has been passed down through the generations.
Final Words
And that’s a wrap on pea varieties. You can either grow them in your home garden or get them directly from the market.