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I planted snowpeas in March and they are still producing. For the flat, edible pods, I choose the variety ‘Mammoth Melting Sugar’ after reading about them in Organic Gardening Magazine. True to their name, they were sweet, big, and tender. I’d soaked the seeds before planting and, to my surprise, all were viable and all sprouted.The vines grew to about 7 feet, then drooped nearly to the ground over five foot fencing meant to support them. I had way too many plants for this household of two. I gave away a few pounds of the snowpeas but will be less ambitious in planting next year as snow peas are better fresh and are to be enjoyed as a seasonal treat.
I love picking fresh snowpeas. Our visitors eat them right off the vine. They’re pretty, their green, they’re tasty. The vines give us all the snowpeas we can eat for a couple of months in late spring. Are they worth the effort of growing them in your backyard? This is how I look at it. We’ve harvested about 10 pound of snowpeas from an area of about 25 square feet. A packet of pea seeds is about $3.00 the first year and hopefully you’ll remember to save seeds from the vines in the years following, and won’t ever have to purchase them again. A bag of steer manure is $1.00 and, of course, your own compost is free. That’s about all you need.
At the local market, a package containing a half a pound of snowpeas is $3.69. That’s $7.38 a pound. My 10 lbs. of snowpeas would have cost $73.80. Personally, I would not be buying many snowpeas at that price. Happily we’ve had the luxury of enjoying this somewhat expensive vegetable to our heart’s content.
