growing sugar snap peas question

[BettyC-5]

I have grown Green Beauty for 2 years now and they are wonderful. Large, sweet and juicy. Well, juicy as a pea can be. I'm not planting anything different now.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by BettyC-5

I have grown Green Beauty for 2 years now and they are wonderful. Large, sweet and juicy. Well, juicy as a pea can be. I'm not planting anything different now.

Thanks much for the feedback. Given your experience I definitely plan to try them next season.
Larry

[Keen101]

I've never grown Oregon Giant. But considering i already grow and am breeding with 17+ varieties of peas i suppose maybe i should finally try them. Never heard of a bush version as i've only heard them described as 6ft.

I grew Green Beauty last year. I can't remember if it did well or not. I don't think it did that well, but neither did the other large podded peas (Carouby de Massane and Bijou). But i did save seeds, so whatever did the best of all three of those got mixed together. I don't think they got anywhere near 8ft though, maybe 4ft. But i don't live in the moist Oregon climate they were bred in either. I live at high altitude dry air Colorado instead, so that might be why.

Many of my pea varieties reach 6ft. Biskopens is one that might reach 8 though. But it is a monk style soup pea. Hoping to breed it to something else. Sugar Magnolia might also reach 8ft, not sure. It does well for me despite it also being bred in Oregon. It's a purple snap pea. Probably the only Snap variety that actually does well for me. All the others just die. Especially Amish Snap.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Keen101

I've never grown Oregon Giant. But considering i already grow and am breeding with 17+ varieties of peas i suppose maybe i should finally try them. Never heard of a bush version as i've only heard them described as 6ft.

I grew Green Beauty last year. I can't remember if it did well or not. I don't think it did that well, but neither did the other large podded peas (Carouby de Massane and Bijou). But i did save seeds, so whatever did the best of all three of those got mixed together. I don't think they got anywhere near 8ft though, maybe 4ft. But i don't live in the moist Oregon climate they were bred in either. I live at high altitude dry air Colorado instead, so that might be why.

Many of my pea varieties reach 6ft. Biskopens is one that might reach 8 though. But it is a monk style soup pea. Hoping to breed it to something else. Sugar Magnolia might also reach 8ft, not sure. It does well for me despite it also being bred in Oregon. It's a purple snap pea. Probably the only Snap variety that actually does well for me. All the others just die. Especially Amish Snap.

Keen101,
Great pea information. I've tried snap peas but never had much success in my challenging environment, but it looks like Sugar Magnolia just may work for me. I definitely will be giving it a try. I may try Biskopen as well.
Thanks,
Larry

[Zone9b]

Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea is said to be a non climbing dwarf, which reaches 30" high. Sounds like a bush plant to me. Said to be highly disease resistant and very productive but at the same time said to require successive planting for extended harvest. It sounds like it would probably work in my tough environment and may try it sometime in the future, when I get tired of climbing up step ladders.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Zeedman

I've often had peas sprout in the pod after a day of rain, so chances are that some might grow. Look for faded, bulging pods, which would be the most mature.

When it comes to legumes , Mr. Zeedman is my authority. No kidding.

Yeah , look for bulging, not-so-green and tough pods.
But pea seeds are not that expensive to buy. I have bought a packet and only used half of it. I guess I am going to put the rest in my soup.

[Keen101]

Today i planted all my breeding peas. Boy there were quite a lot of seeds actually! Here's hoping i get a really nice crop of seed back that i can finally start sharing with those i promised or shared seed with me years ago.

17+ varieties i think.

Purple Pod Parsley & Calvin Lamborn's "Snap Greens"
Virescens Mutante
Sugaree & Sugar Lace II
Orc gene peas
Sugar Magnolia [2015]
Opal Creek [2015]
Mummy's (Mummy-Pea, Salmon-flowered, Mummy White, and segregating F2 crosses)
F1 Cross between Purple Passion and Mighty Midget
Orange-Pod
Mighty Midget
Purple Passion
Biskopens (aka Sweedish Red)
Joseph's Red Podded & Joseph's Yellow Podded
Purples
Dwarf Gray Sugar
Large Podded (Bijou, Green Beauty, Carouby de Maussane)
Dwarfs (Dwarf Champion, Tom Thumb, etc.)

[Zone9b]

Keen101,
What a great project. I wish you the greatest success.
Larry

[Zone9b]

I read this thread and get the opinion that if I pick mature, bulging, green pods off of my Snow Pea plants and let the peas dry off the vine, the resulting peas will not be viable seeds for next season. Is that correct?
I’d like to pull the vines so I could grow a crop of Lima Beans in the space, before it gets too hot.
Thanks,
Larry

[Keen101]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

I read this thread and get the opinion that if I pick mature, bulging, green pods off of my Snow Pea plants and let the peas dry off the vine, the resulting peas will not be viable seeds for next season. Is that correct?
I’d like to pull the vines so I could grow a crop of Lima Beans in the space, before it gets too hot.
Thanks,
Larry

Technically Rebsie has stated that you can harvest mature peas from the pod while they are still green and plant them right away and get a second crop (or second generation if you are breeding them).

But maybe this link will answer your real question better:

http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.co...-for-seed.html

In my experience you can and the peas will dry down fine. The biggest problem with harvesting vines and pods before they dry down naturally is they grow mildew fast. And the mold is what can ruin the peas. Best to shell them and spread the green peas out to dry at that point.

[Zeedman]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

I read this thread and get the opinion that if I pick mature, bulging, green pods off of my Snow Pea plants and let the peas dry off the vine, the resulting peas will not be viable seeds for next season. Is that correct?
I’d like to pull the vines so I could grow a crop of Lima Beans in the space, before it gets too hot.
Thanks,
Larry

Ditto on Keen's comments. When wet weather threatens, I often harvest bean & pea pods which are not fully dry, to prevent losses due to spoilage. Last year was a wet one, probably 1/3 of my bean & pea seed was harvested that way (sometimes literally walking through the mud between storms to do so). Pods with ripe seed often change color or appearance, and become dull or translucent... but the best indicator of ripeness is to feel the section of pod between the stem and the first seed. When mature, this section will become soft & flexible, or feel leathery. (This is also the stage where shelly beans have their best color.)

As a rule, I try to dry ripe pods indoors before shelling, unless they were already wet when harvested. It is my opinion that the seeds will continue to draw nutrients from the pod as it dries. Regardless of whether 'green' seed is dried in the pod or shelled first, good air circulation is a must to reduce the chance of mold or mildew. I dry mine under a ceiling fan, in an air conditioned room. I'm assuming that in central Florida, central air is fairly common. Dry the pods in a single layer, and watch carefully for signs of mold.

Pods which were harvested before fully ripe may still have viable seed, but the storage life will be less than normal, perhaps a lot less. I would recommend that such seed - after being properly dried - should be stored refrigerated, in an air-tight container.

[Zone9b]

Keen101 and Zeedman,
Thanks for all the great information. I will try saving some of the seeds for use this November. I didn’t think I could grow peas here successfully until I grew Snow Peas this winter. I’m really looking forward to next season to grow even more. They go so well with my other vegetables, mainly Broccoli, Kale and Snap Beans.
Oh, and yes Zeedman the AC is running a bit more each day as the weather warms up. It’s hard to imagine living in Florida without AC, but I guess they used to do it. Folks must have been tougher back then.
Larry