Snow Peas Can be Planted Early

Snow peas are easy to grow. They are very cold hardy and survive at least down to 28F.  They don't need any nitrogen fertilizers because they belong to the legume family, just like fava beans. They have symbiotic relations with nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil. In fact, they add nitrogen to your soil making it more fertile over time. They will grow happily if you give them some rotting leaves, pine needles, coffee ground or any organic matter. Snow peas can be black walnut tolerant, heat tolerant and drought tolerant. However they need afternoon shade in a hot summer to remain productive. You can grow snow peas on the east side of a deciduous tree or shrub so that they receive full sun in spring and have afternoon shade in summer.

The entire snow pea plant is edible, including leaves, pea pods, and peas. You can eat them raw or lightly cooked (say by stir frying or steaming). Our snow pea starters will start producing pea pods in about 1 1/2 months after transplanting to your soil depending on the weather (if we have enough sun in spring). If you buy it in early March, you can start harvesting in mid or lateApril all the way to July or even August (if you water them well and provide them with good afternoon shade in a hot summer).

Snow peas and sugar snap peas have a protein to carbohydrate ratio of close to 1:1 and hence is good for weight loss. Who can resist the sweat taste of snow peas? However, it is not really reliable as the only source of proteins because its amino acid profile is not as complete as fava beans. To complement snow peas, a vegan needs to eat lima beans and some nuts to obtain more histidine and sulfur amino acids. If you are not a vegan, it is much easier because you can add a little meat, such as beef or pork to your peas to make your protein intake complete. Snow pea pods are a reliable supply of dietary fiber facilitating your digestion and digestive system health. Plus, they also contain a lot of vitamins A, C, K, and a lot of minerals, such as iron and magnesium.