Snap Peas

Thrives in USDA Zones 3 - 10

• Direct Sow

  4 - 6 weeks before last frost; as soon as soil is workable

• Harvest

  60 - 70 days; harvest when pods are plump, round, and bright green; eat immediately for peak sweetness

• Support from the start - even dwarf snap peas benefit from netting or twiggy pea sticks.

• Harvest daily once pods fill out; even a few days overripe converts sweet snap peas to starchy dry peas.

• Leave a few plants to dry completely on the vine for seed saving.

• Cut plants at ground level after harvest rather than pulling to leave nitrogen-fixing roots in the soil.

• Watering

  If the top 2 inches of soil feel dry, a deep watering at the base may help more than frequent light watering. In healthy soil, rain may cover much of what it needs.

• Feeding

  Extra feeding is rarely required if soil is healthy. If growth looks pale or slow, a light compost top-dressing is often enough before adding anything stronger.

• Seasonal care

  During the main season, harvesting when the crop is ready and removing damaged growth can help keep the planting productive if it starts to look crowded or tired.

• Sugar Snap

  The original Calvin Lamborn variety that launched the snap pea category; tall vines needing support, very sweet pods with outstanding flavor.

  Best for

  traditional flavor, trellises, fresh eating

• Sugar Ann

  Dwarf bush version of Sugar Snap reaching only 24 inches; no staking required; slightly earlier than tall types.

  Best for

  small gardens, no-trellis growing, beginners

• Cascadia

  Oregon-bred variety with excellent disease resistance to powdery mildew; semi-dwarf vines; reliable in cool-damp climates.

  Best for

  disease resistance, cool-damp climates

• Super Sugar Snap

  Improved Sugar Snap with taller vines and better mildew resistance; maintains the original's superb flavor.

  Best for

  high yield, improved disease resistance

• Pea Moth
• Aphids
• Powdery Mildew
• Pea Weevil

Origin

Developed by Calvin Lamborn of Rogers Brothers Seed Company in Twin Falls, Idaho, in the 1970s; released as Sugar Snap in 1979.

Native Habitat

Bred from cultivated Pisum sativum; no wild population exists.

Current Distribution

Cultivated worldwide as a garden and commercial crop; widely grown in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Kingdom

Plantae

Family

Legume family (Fabaceae)

Genus

Pisum

Species

sativum

• Root System

  Fibrous, shallow roots with nitrogen-fixing nodules. Consistent soil moisture is more important than depth.

• Stem

  Slender, hollow, climbing vines that grip supports with curling tendrils; dwarf varieties stay 18 - 24 inches, tall varieties reach 5 - 6 feet.

• Leaves

  Compound with paired leaflets and curling tendrils; bright green; healthy plants have a fresh, waxy appearance.

• Flowers

  White, pea-shaped, self-pollinating; held at leaf nodes in pairs; each flower quickly develops into a pod.

• Fruit

  Round, plump, thick-walled pods with fully edible walls; sweet and crunchy when harvested at full size before seeds mature.

The snap pea is a remarkably modern creation. The standard shelling pea and the snow pea were both cultivated for centuries. The snap pea - combining the sweet, plump seed of a shelling pea with the thick, edible, stringless pod of an improved snow pea - was specifically bred by Calvin Lamborn, working for Rogers Brothers Seed Company in Twin Falls, Idaho, in the 1960s and 1970s. Lamborn crossed a podded variety with shelling pea lines, selecting across multiple generations for the characteristic thick, round, fully edible pod. The Sugar Snap variety was released commercially in 1979 and won the All-America Selections award that year, becoming one of the most successful new vegetable introductions of the 20th century. The Sugar Snap's success demonstrated that there was a substantial market for vegetables with exceptionally short preparation time and high raw-eating quality.