Description:

A cool weather, bushy variety that performs wonderfully in containers and gardens; maturing early, it produces 2 inch long pods that are sweet and crisp, perfect for stir frys, steaming or fresh eating; stagger plantings to harvest more fruit; no staking

Edible Qualities

Sugar Ann Pea is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. The entire above-ground parts of the plant are edible, and are usually harvested from early summer to mid fall. The edible parts have a sweet taste and a crisp texture.

The plant is most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Sugar Ann Pea will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 30 inches apart. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. Because of its relatively short time to maturity, it lends itself to a series of successive plantings each staggered by a week or two; this will prolong the effective harvest period.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.

Sugar Ann Pea is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing the canvas against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.