Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’
Each plant breeder goals of making that excellent cultivar that has all of the marvelous traits that they’re aiming for.
A cultivar that can win awards, make them wealthy, or acquire them accolades from their fellow botanists.
We hyperlink to distributors that can assist you discover related merchandise. If you happen to purchase from one in every of our hyperlinks, we could earn a fee.
The stellar ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’ is a type of killer cultivars. It’s a sugar snap pea immune to powdery mildew, fusarium wilt, and pea enation mosaic virus.
It grows shortly and produces extremely tasty pods in a small footprint. The breeder wished to create the proper freezing pea and, by all accounts, they succeeded.
Unsurprisingly, given all of this to suggest it, it’s probably the most extensively grown peas in North America at the moment. And but, it has by no means gained an All-America Picks award, and the breeder didn’t make a single penny off it.
What’s up with that?
Whether or not you’re fascinated with rising this pea for a snack or to be used in furthering a breeding program of your personal, this information will assist you to by means of all of the ins and outs of what it takes to make it thrive.
Not that it’s all that tough. Plus, we’ll speak in regards to the historical past of how this plant got here to be and why you gained’t see it on that well-known award listing.
Right here’s what we’re going to go over on this information:
Peas are fairly straightforward to develop for those who can present them with the cool climate they like. However this one is even simpler.
The toughest half is determining tips on how to eat all of the delectable legumes you’ll be rising.
Don’t fear, we’ve some concepts for that, too. Right here we go!
What Is the Oregon Sugar Pod Pea?
‘Oregon Sugar Pod II,’ also referred to as ‘Oregon Sugarpod II’ and ‘Oregon Sugar Pod 2,’ or generally “Oregon Sugar Pod Pea,” is a cultivar of sugar snap (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon).
The peas themselves are semi-wrinkled and candy, they usually kind inside succulent, gentle inexperienced, edible pods that develop as much as 4 inches lengthy.
The vegetation develop as much as 30 inches tall and mature in about 56 days, with pods which might be candy, tender, and stringless.
You’ll be able to develop them anyplace with sufficient cool days, in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 10.
Cultivation and Historical past
This tasty legume was developed within the Eighties in Dr. James R. Baggett’s long-running breeding program at Oregon State College.
Baggett additionally oversaw breeding of the ‘Cascadia’ and ‘Oregon Large’ peas, ‘Honey Boat Delicata’ squash, ‘Summertime’ lettuce, and the ‘Oregon Spring’ tomato, the latter of which has saved many a Pacific Northwestern gardener who thought they’d by no means have the ability to develop a tomato efficiently in a wet, cool local weather – together with me.
“Oregon sugarpod,” one other nickname, was bred as a posh cross over years utilizing ‘Wando,’ ‘Perfected Freezer,’ and others, with the objective of constructing an ideal freezing pea that might resist among the most typical and devastating illnesses that may have an effect on Pisum vegetation.
Spoiler alert: mission completed.
Due to Baggett and his workforce’s efforts, this pea, which improved upon the bigger ‘Oregon Sugar Pod,’ is without doubt one of the hottest edible-podded peas on the planet.
Gardeners worldwide develop this pea, together with these within the Pacific Northwest, who was once relegated to only a few months of poor pea rising. This cultivar enabled them (and me!) to develop peas efficiently from Could till the primary frost.
Baggett was inspired by the college to place mental property restrictions on his creations, however he refused, believing plant genetic materials ought to belong to everybody.
He and the college most likely misplaced out on plenty of money, recognition, and fame on account of this, however he caught to his weapons.
As such, he was one of many American pioneers of initiatives just like the Open Supply Seed Initiative and different efforts to maintain seeds and different plant materials part of the general public area.
Talking of, many individuals search for the All-America Picks seal of approval when selecting cultivars, and also you would possibly discover that ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’ by no means gained the distinguished award. If it’s so incredible, why was it by no means acknowledged?
That’s as a result of the cultivar was by no means patented, so it was by no means submitted for evaluate to the group.
The AAS requires winners to pay a proportion again to them every year. If you happen to aren’t earning profits off of your creations, it’s fairly exhausting to pay a proportion of the gross sales, proper?
Don’t let that obtrusive absence scare you. This cultivar is a winner in each different manner. Plus, because it isn’t patented, you should utilize it in your personal propagation efforts.
Propagation
There’s a cause why peas are a type of crops that rookies usually begin with. They’re achingly straightforward to start out, as long as you’re planting in the proper temperatures.
You’ll be able to sow these any time the climate is cool sufficient so long as it is going to stay cool for the 2 months you want for the vegetation to mature.
Temperatures have to be beneath 70°F primarily, so early spring and early fall are the very best occasions.
A blip above 70°F is not any large deal, however prolonged durations above that can trigger the vegetation to flower and produce pods prematurely, or they could fail to flower altogether.
If you happen to don’t have the time, purchase seedlings to get a head begin, or begin the seeds indoors. With seedlings, you solely want a number of weeks to develop mature, ready-to-harvest pods. I instructed you it was straightforward, proper?
From Seed
As a result of this cultivar is open-pollinated, you should utilize the seeds from the earlier 12 months to start out vegetation the next 12 months.
You’ll must let the pods mature totally for this, so depart a number of on the plant till they flip dry and brown.
You may as well purchase the seeds able to go, in fact. As probably the most fashionable cultivars, you may often discover them nearly anyplace.
If you happen to don’t have 55 days in a row of cool climate, be at liberty to start out your vegetation indoors. Begin seeds in three-inch pots stuffed with potting combine and poke one seed an inch deep within the middle of every pot.
Water nicely so the soil is moist however not moist and place it someplace the pots will obtain six or extra hours of solar.
As soon as the climate cooperates and the seedlings are a number of inches tall, take them exterior after per week of hardening them off.
Hardening off is the method of putting the seedlings exterior in a protected spot for an hour after which bringing them again inside.
On day two, take the plant out for 2 hours. Day three, three hours, day 4, 4 hours, and so forth, till per week has handed.
Now you may stick them within the floor as described below the part on propagating seedlings beneath.
Outdoor, sow seeds an inch deep and two to a few inches aside in loamy, wealthy soil. I don’t learn about you, however my soil isn’t naturally like that. So work in loads of well-rotted compost to make it that manner in case your soil is imperfect like mine.
Water nicely and preserve the soil moist. Pea seeds take below two weeks to germinate.
From Seedlings
In most areas, you’ll find seedlings at shops within the spring. To plant them, dig a gap twice as broad and deep because the container that the seedling got here in.
Then, fill the bottom again in, so the seedling sits as excessive because it was within the container.
Place the seedling within the gap and fill in round it with soil. Water nicely in order that the soil is moist however not soggy.
As long as the temperatures and solar publicity are proper, you’ll have wholesome, productive vegetation in a number of weeks.
The way to Develop
Peas do finest in wealthy, unfastened, loamy soil with a pH between 5.5 and seven.0.
I don’t naturally have that sort of earth in my yard, and I’m guessing you don’t both. We are able to pretend it by including tons and many well-rotted compost to our soil. Compost loosens up clay and provides water retention to sandy soil.
You’ll be able to develop these veggies a lot in the identical manner you’ll develop every other edible-pod pea.
Give them full solar in cool climate, or give them partial solar with shade within the afternoon warmth for those who dwell someplace which may expertise some sizzling days through the rising season.
You’ll be able to present the plant one thing to develop and vine as much as be as wholesome as attainable, although the necessities listed below are fairly unfastened. You’ll be able to plant yours in opposition to a fence or a trellis, or practice it up wires. I’m going the lazy route and plant them in the course of a tomato cage.
In case you aren’t aware of pea progress habits, there are both bush or vining varieties. Bush varieties can develop and not using a trellis, they usually can assist themselves. Vining varieties want one thing to develop up or they’ll collapse and switch into a giant mess.
You’ll be able to let these vegetation develop naturally with out assist since they’re bushing varieties, however this usually reduces the quantity of solar they obtain and makes them extra vulnerable to fungal illnesses and pests.
In relation to water, peas like a great quantity of moisture. The soil ought to stay moist however not moist your entire time the plant is rising.
Drought at any level can stunt the plant, scale back yields, or trigger the plant to “bolt” and switch robust, inflicting pods to fill out and change into much less palatable.
If you happen to have been to stay your finger into the soil, it ought to really feel moist like a well-wrung-out sponge. If it feels soggier, don’t water. If it feels drier, add water straight away.
Rising Ideas
- Plant in full solar, or afternoon shade in hotter climates.
- Present vegetation some assist.
- Present constant moisture.
The place to Purchase
As we talked about, that is a particularly fashionable pea possibility. You shouldn’t have too exhausting of a time discovering it, typically as dwell vegetation, however extra usually as seed.
‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’
For instance, Burpee carries packets of 300, 900, and a couple of,000 natural seeds.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for a useful resource that carries extra measurement choices, take a look at Excessive Mowing Natural Seed. They’ve ounce, half-pound, pound, five-pound, and 20-pound choices.
If having the selection between typical and natural is essential to you, Botanical Pursuits carries 25-gram and 15-gram packets, respectively.
Upkeep
Oregon sugarpods don’t require any upkeep. You’ll be able to actually plant them and watch them develop.
Nonetheless, to be a great helicopter mother or father, pinch the plant when it’s younger to encourage branching.
There’s no want to offer fertilizer or do any pruning. Lower off any branches that break since they’ll simply weigh the plant down.
Managing Pests and Illness
I’ve discovered that herbivores are the most important menace when rising these peas. Pests are uncommon, and illnesses are much more uncommon.
Herbivores
All the plant is edible, together with the leaves, stems, and flowers. You already know who likes to eat all these elements earlier than the peas even kind? Herbivores like birds, rabbits, and deer.
Birds
Birds appear to love to nibble right here and there on mature vegetation, however the large threat is to tiny vegetation. Our avian mates can mow by means of a whole seedling very quickly flat.
When you have an lively chicken inhabitants, attempt drawing them away with feeders or sacrificial vegetation.
Then, defend the younger vegetation with netting till they’re sufficiently big to carry their very own.
Deer
There are some vegetation that the deer in my neighborhood appear to deal with like most children deal with spinach. They’ll eat it in the event that they need to, however they’d want the rooster nuggets on their plate.
Peas are deer rooster nuggets.
That shouldn’t be a shock since many individuals feed pea household (Fabaceae) vegetation as forage to plenty of totally different ungulate species.
Our information to deer-proofing your backyard can assist you defend these weak vegetation.
Rabbits
The largest challenger to deer within the pea-eating division are rabbits. They love the vegetation simply as a lot as deer do, they usually’re a lot wilier about attending to the products.
If you happen to’re repeatedly troubled by rabbits in your backyard, I’d extremely suggest that you simply develop your peas in a container. It’ll prevent plenty of bother down the street.
Then, go to our information on tips on how to preserve rabbits out of your backyard to assist make issues simpler on your self sooner or later.
Bugs
Whereas it’s a disease-resistant celebrity, Oregon sugarpod isn’t resistant to insect pests.
Aphids
Pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and blue alfalfa aphids (A. kondoi) feed on varied forms of legumes and exist the world over.
If you happen to see tiny inexperienced or pink, oval-shaped critters crawling in your pea vegetation, it’s most likely one in every of these.
Just a few bugs will trigger a bit leaf yellowing, however giant populations, which are likely to kind within the spring and fall, will trigger the plant to wilt and collapse because the aphids use their sucking mouthparts to feed.
Whereas aphids exist and feed in each backyard, it’s solely when there’s some form of imbalance that aphid populations sometimes develop uncontrolled.
Often, you’ll see it when there aren’t sufficient pure predators to maintain populations below management.
For now, deal with the issue by following the guidelines in our information to aphids. Then, work on making a more healthy backyard to stop future points.
Armyworms
There are a number of armyworm species that feed on peas and different legumes, together with beet (Spodoptera exigua), Bertha (Mamestra configurata), and western yellow-striped armyworms, (S. praeica). However the species doesn’t matter – all of them do the identical kind of harm.
The adults seem like brown moths, and whereas their presence is a warning that they’re round, it’s the larvae that you’ll want to fear about.
They’re lively at evening, crawling as much as feed on the tender new progress, so it may be exhausting to inform in the event that they’re round till it’s too late. There may be a number of generations per 12 months, so it’s a must to be vigilant whether or not you’re rising in spring or fall.
They’re far more lively in gardens with plenty of weeds as a result of it provides them locations to cover and for the adults to put eggs. But one more reason why you will need to management these weeds!
When you have only a few vegetation, head exterior and frivolously flip the floor of the soil. You’ll uncover among the larvae. Simply pluck them up and toss them in some soapy water.
Do that every single day, and you must have the state of affairs below management in a few week.
For bigger gardens, take a multi-pronged strategy. Purchase some Trichogramma wasps and introduce them to your backyard.
They’re an efficient predator that gained’t get rid of the larvae however will severely scale back their numbers.
Moth Egg Parasites
You’ll be able to seize tabs, playing cards, or bulk orders of the wasp eggs from Arbico Organics, relying on how giant your backyard is and the way large your infestation is.
Cutworms
Black (Agotis ipsilon) and variegated (Peridroma saucia) cutworms are just like armyworms, besides they lower the plant off on the base relatively than crawling up the vegetation and consuming the tender new progress.
If you happen to’ve ever woken up one morning to go out to your backyard solely to search out that your vegetation have collapsed, severed on the base, then you definately’ve met cutworms earlier than.
Hand plucking, as described for armyworms, is an efficient management technique, however you’ll need to add an additional step to guard your vegetation till you may kill the little crawly jerks.
Defend your peas with collars as described in our information to controlling cutworms. The information additionally has extra data on tips on how to management bigger infestations.
Weevils
Two weevil species feed on pea vegetation: pea leaf (Sitona lineata) and pea weevils (Bruchus pisorum).
The adults of the latter species eat the blossoms, whereas their larvae eat the peas contained in the pods. Pea leaf weevils eat the leaves, which is de facto solely an issue for younger seedlings.
Since each look related, brownish and a few quarter-inch lengthy, you may inform them aside by taking a look at what a part of the plant they’re feeding on. Simply hand pluck any you discover.
If you happen to begin vegetation indoors or purchase seedlings, you gained’t want to fret about pea leaf weevils.
For pea weevils, pesticides don’t work nicely. Your finest wager is to handpick any adults you see and plant as early within the 12 months as you may handle to keep away from them.
You also needs to learn our information to be taught all about these pests and tips on how to take care of them.
Illness
When you can safely sit again and never fear about most illness issues with this plant, it’s not completely resistant to all the things. Sorry!
Whereas it’s immune to fungal points, there are another potential illnesses that aren’t fungal in nature to keep watch over.
Bacterial Blight
Pseudomonas syringae is without doubt one of the most typical pathogens that assaults vegetation.
The pathovars, or bacterial strains, pisi and syringae, specifically, infect peas and different legumes, inflicting water-soaked lesions on the leaves and stems that may ultimately result in rot and dying.
There isn’t any identified remedy that’s efficient, however crop rotation and shopping for disease-free seed helps with prevention.
Harvesting
Usually, the pods are plucked once they’re solely barely lumpy earlier than the seeds inside develop plump, however you can even wait till the seeds develop a bit bigger.
As they mature, the pods and seeds change into harder and fewer candy, so discover the extent you favor.
Don’t await the peas to change into giant as you would possibly do with English peas. They gained’t ever develop that enormous. We develop these vegetation for the edible pods, not the seeds.
To reap, pinch the pods off on the base or snip them with a pointy pair of scissors.
I additionally discover the flowers to be among the tastiest that I’ve tried. Simply know that for every flower you pluck, that’s one much less pod you’ll have, so don’t overdo it. Simply pinch them off once they’re younger.
Preserving
These peas have been actually bred to be frozen. To freeze them, wash and dry them and lay them on a tray.
You need to be certain they’re organized in a single layer on the tray and never piled up in a mass, or they gained’t be as crispy if you thaw them out.
Put them within the freezer. As soon as they’re frozen stable, pack them into resealable luggage or jars.
You may as well can them. If you happen to’ve by no means canned homegrown produce earlier than, our sister website Foodal has a information to stroll you thru the method.
Recipes and Cooking Concepts
The choices for utilizing peas are fairly infinite. Stir fries, soups, salads – you title it, they usually’re nice in it. Even desserts like ice cream and truffles may be made with peas!
Make a spring meal with this asparagus and snow pea black-eyed pea salad from Foodal. Or inexperienced up your summer time meals by including them to pasta, like what you’ll see on this recipe from Foodal.
Fast Reference Rising Information
| Plant Kind: | Herbaceous vegetable | Flower/Foliage Coloration: | White/medium inexperienced |
| Native to: | Center East | Tolerance: | Some shade |
| Hardiness (USDA Zone): | 3-10 | Soil Kind: | Unfastened, wealthy |
| Bloom Time/Season: | Spring, fall | Soil pH: | 5.5-7.0 |
| Publicity: | Full solar, partial solar | Soil Drainage: | Properly-draining |
| Time to Maturity: | 56 days | Attracts: | Bees, butterfiles |
| Spacing: | 3 inches | Companion Planting: | Beans, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, peppers, radishes, spinach, turnips |
| Planting Depth: | 1 inch (seed), similar as container (seedlings) | Keep away from Planting With: | Alliums like onions, garlic, leeks, chives |
| Peak: | 30 inches | Order: | Fabales |
| Unfold: | 6 inches | Household: | Fabaceae |
| Water Wants: | Average | Genus: | Pisum |
| Progress Price: | Quick | Species: | Sativum |
| Upkeep: | Low | Selection: | Macrocarpon |
| Widespread Pests and Illnesses: | Aphids, armyworms, birds, cutworms, deer, rabbits, weevils; bacterial blight | Cultivar: | Oregon Sugar Pod II |
Oregon Sugar Pod Peas
If you happen to love sugar snap peas, I can’t consider a single cause to not develop ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II.’ It’s fast-growing, disease-resistant, and doesn’t require assist.
However none of that comes on the expense of taste or measurement. The pods are nonetheless giant and filled with taste.
All that, they usually’re open pollinated so it can save you the seeds and use them 12 months after 12 months.
What do you propose to do along with your harvest? Do you eat them buttered as a facet dish? Toss them with different veggies for a stir fry? Share all of your favorites with us within the feedback!
Able to be taught extra about rising peas? Now we have some tremendous guides price having a look at:
