One vegetable that is truly a treat to grow yourself is the pea, Pisum sativum. Peas are in the same legume family as beans, have large seeds, and don’t require much care. The only difference between peas and beans is that peas like cool weather to grow and mature, whereas beans like it warm. A pea is described by the type of pods it has. An English, or garden, pea has a tough pod with tender peas inside. A snap pea has tender peas inside but also has an edible, sweet pod. A snow pea is harvested flat (that is, harvested before the pea seeds inside the pod form) mainly for its tender pea pod. Mind your peas and take a look at some excellent varieties:

• English peas: In the following list, the days to maturity represent the time from seeding to harvest. Here are some of the most reliable performing varieties of English peas:
  • ‘Green Arrow’: High-yielding, 2-foot-tall (61 cm), widely adapted variety matures in 70 days.
  • ‘Maestro’: Prolific early variety reaches only 2-feet (61 cm) tall but produces 4- to 5-inch (10- to 13-cm) pods on powdery-mildew-resistant plants.
  • ‘Novella’: Unique 20-inch-tall (51 cm), leafless variety produces tendrils and lots of peas in 65 days.
  • ‘Wando’: Very productive, warm weather variety grows 3 feet (1 m) tall and produces peas in 68 days.
• Snap peas: Recent breeding has created a pea pod that fills out (the pea seed inside the pod forms) like an English pea but has a sweet, tender pod like a snow pea. Upon harvesting snap peas, cut off the cap (stem end) of the pod and take the string (along the seam) out of the pod. These are the only two parts of the pod that are chewy. Try these:
  • ‘Cascadia’: Two-foot-tall (61 cm) vines produce 3-inch (8-cm), dark green peas 58 days after planting.
  • ‘Sugar Bon’: Sweet, 1- to 2-foot-tall (30- to 61-cm) snap pea matures in 56 days and resists powdery mildew disease.
  • ‘Sugar Daddy’: Vines are 30 inches (76 cm) tall and produces stringless, podded snap peas 75 days after planting.
• Snow peas: Snow peas are the easiest peas to grow because you don’t have to wait for the pea pods to fill out to harvest them. They’re tender, stringless, and best when harvested before the peas inside begin to swell. Here are two of the best producing varieties to try:
  • ‘Dwarf Gray Sugar’: Viny, 2- to 3-foot-tall (0.6- to 1-m) plant needs support but produces 3-inch (8-cm), dark green pods 57 days after planting. The pink flowers are very ornamental.
  • ‘Oregon Giant’: Large 4- to 5-inch (10- to 13-cm) sweet pods grow on disease-resistant, 3-foot-tall (1 m) vines 60 days after planting.