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Old December 1, 2012   #1
uno
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Default Favorite dwarf sugar snap pea varieties

I have grown sugar snap and super sugar snap peas for a long time and they are great. But I have one big problem with them....they blow over and break no matter what I do it seems. I grow them up a 6 foot+ fence.

So I have been wanting to give dwarf snap peas a try to see if that works out better.


A few years back I tried Cascadia peas. They were organic seeds that were untreated and the mice here ate all of them but one or two plants out of about a pound of pea seeds planted. So I really did not get to try them out.

I never had that problem with the sugar snap peas because they were treated with fungicide so the mice would not eat them.

I garden organically except for the fungicide...it's sort of a necessity.

I have a neighbor close by that lives nearby that lives in a total mess of a place and so there is a rodent problem here and I can't do anything but deal with it I guess.

So finding a dwarf sugar snap pea that also is treated with fungicide would be a big help.

Just wondering what varieties everyone likes?

Thanks

Jim
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Old December 1, 2012   #2
kath
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We tried Sugar Lace II a couple of years ago and trialed it against all the tall ones we could find locally and liked it better than all the rest- and it has no strings!In our garden it reached about 3' but I think it's supposed to be shorter than that (20-24"?). They say you don't need to give it a trellis but we give it support anyway. I've only gotten untreated seed- not sure who might sell it treated.
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Old December 2, 2012   #3
Zeedman
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Ditto on the recommendation for "Sugar Lace II". The dwarf vines don't need support, and the peas are wide, sweet, and succulent. DV Burrell is a good source for bulk quantities, their prices are good, and they have free shipping for quantities under a pound.

But if the mice are as much of a problem as you say, Uno, then dwarf peas may be the last thing you need. If the pods are closer to the ground, then the same mice which decimated your seeds will likely get the pods too.

What you probably need to do is to control the mice, or discourage them from eating the seeds. I would suggest predator urine, a hot sauce spray, or the use of DE over the row. Apply this after planting, and to protect the young seedlings. If deterrents don't work, some good old-fashioned mouse traps might slow the onslaught enough to give the seeds a chance. Getting a cat or two would be helpful too.

Quote:
But I have one big problem with them....they blow over and break no matter what I do it seems.
I grow a lot of heirloom soup peas, which also get very tall. Not all of them have strong tendrils; left to their own devices, some of the vines might break loose in the wind as they get longer. I grow tall peas on trellises, and once the plants get over 24", I carefully wrap twine around both sides & tie it off. This pulls the vines together, which helps the vines to cling to the trellis & to each other. For each additional foot or so of growth, I run another loop of twine to keep the vines growing tightly next to the trellis.

Good luck!
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Old December 2, 2012   #4
Tracydr
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I grew Alaska a few years ago as an English pea. Nice early dwarf pea.
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Old December 2, 2012   #5
KarenO
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'sugar sprint' is an edible pod snap pea that does well for me. only grows approx 18" tall. early.Can even be grown in pots with success.
as for the mice, I think traps are likely the best answer for control.
enjoy your gardening!
KO
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Old December 3, 2012   #6
kath
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Originally Posted by KarenO View Post
'sugar sprint' is an edible pod snap pea that does well for me. only grows approx 18" tall. early.Can even be grown in pots with success.
KO
Sugar Sprint is our second favorite snap pea but I think the height might vary depending upon your soil and conditions because it got quite a bit taller than 18" when we grew it. The seeds were from Johnny's as I recall.
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Old December 3, 2012   #7
ddsack
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Quote:
I have grown sugar snap and super sugar snap peas for a long time and they are great. But I have one big problem with them....they blow over and break no matter what I do it seems. I grow them up a 6 foot+ fence.
I had this problem more when I grew them in a spot where they got some shade for part of the day. This year I added a new bed where they got sun all day, and they did much better. I also added a little high maintenance care during my regular evening garden check walks. I grow on cattle panels, so the wires are a bit thick and somewhat far apart. I manually helped the tendrils attach to other tendrils on the other side of the support frame, as well as to the wires. It really helped. Basically, I tried to make sure that any tendril I saw was attached to something, and preferably to something on the other side of the panel. They are pretty tough, and you can unroll and re-position most of them. I realize that if you are growing for market, being that picky would be impossible. Like Zeedman, I also added some extra twine across the outside of the vines every few feet as they grew up.
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Old December 3, 2012   #8
KarenO
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http://mckenzieseeds.com/product_det...oductID=101520

Hi again, very true that soil and other conditions would affect the growth and performance. These are a bush variety vs a tall vine though and the seeds I use are from this Canadian seed company. Johnny's catalogue says it grows to 24 inches Mckenzie says 18 inches. Similar enough I suppose meaning that they are not 6 feet tall as are others. They still benefit from support though. I use a short fence made of chicken wire and stakes planting a row of pea seed down each side.

Last edited by KarenO; December 3, 2012 at 01:38 PM. Reason: better link
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Old December 3, 2012   #9
Redbaron
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Anyone ever try a Florida weave on peas? I mean go ahead and do the panels, but throw a weave around the outside?

I never tried it, but seems like it should work. My peas here in OK it isn't an issue because they die from the heat WAY before they get that tall.
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Old December 3, 2012   #10
kath
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redbaron View Post
Anyone ever try a Florida weave on peas? I mean go ahead and do the panels, but throw a weave around the outside?

I never tried it, but seems like it should work. My peas here in OK it isn't an issue because they die from the heat WAY before they get that tall.
Yes, we use metal t-posts spaced about 5' apart and attach metal fencing that's 4'tall for the vines to climb. When the vines reach between 18-24" and begin to billow, we weave jute from post to post, pulling every other section of peas close to the fence. When the end of the row is reached, we weave back toward the beginning post, wrapping every other section of peas as we go. This needs to be repeated whenever the vines begin to move too far from the fencing. The jute stretches a bit when it gets wet, so it's important to pull it tightly when weaving. If you don't wrap the peas, they'll meet up with the vines in the adjacent rows, attach themselves to one another, and you'll lose your pathway and ability to harvest.

Last edited by kath; December 3, 2012 at 04:28 PM.
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Old December 4, 2012   #11
swamper
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Cascadia yields heavily with pea pods that are solid heavy sweet and crunchy.
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Old December 6, 2012   #12
uno
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Thanks Kath, Zeedman, Tracydr,KarenO, Ddsack, Redbarn, and Swamper!

You gave me some varieties to try this upcoming season.

The sugar snap and super sugar snaps are a great variety...it's just supporting them that I got sick of.

The rodents I have here (the mice anyway the chipmunks are a different story!) seem to be only interested in seeds. Once the plant grows they seem to move on to other things.

Jim
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