Snow Pea ‘Oregon Sugar’
                                    (20 November 2014)

I realise that summer has all but arrived and snow peas in the veggie patch are very nearly done for the season, but I simply must tell you all about Snow Pea ‘Oregon Sugar’ (Pisum sativum ‘Oregon Sugar’), so you have plenty of time to source it for autumn planting. It is easily the best variety I have come across for taste, hardiness, disease resistance and vigour, which is fortunate for me, as I tend to go for the ‘Two for me, one for the basket’ approach to harvesting produce.

 
‘Oregon Sugar’ is a bush style snow pea which reaches 50-70cm in height and has super sweet, crisp pods of up to 11cm in size. Although relatively small, plants perform better with support and protection from high winds. Snow peas are usually sown direct from April to mid-October (be mindful that frost damages flowers though), with germination taking between one and two weeks. I, however, have resorted to establishing mine in small pots first as they tend to survive pest attack noticeably better. And as with most productive crops, snow peas perform better in reliably moist, friable soils, high in organic matter.

 
Snow Pea ‘Oregon Sugar’ is available from online seed supplier Green Harvest: www.greenharvest.com.au