I can answer your basic question. I've grown Sugar Snap, Super Sugar Snap and Cascadia. All are fine peas, very little difference in the pods, SLIGHTLY smaller on the Cascadia but not by much, main difference is just the shorter vine length of Cascadia. The germination issue isn't necessarily a variety issue, it can be a source issue at times. Frankly, I've had bad luck with germination on a lot of Burpee seeds for whatever reason, although that is just my experience and not any scientific proof or anything, so take it as anecdotal evidence only.

I think I used to prefer the taller ones, but I got sick of them getting so tall they flopped from their supports, so have done the shorter varieties this past season, which worked better.

You will get a slightly bigger overall yield from the taller ones, since they can keep producing longer IF you're good about keeping them picked on the younger side, before the actual peas fill out the pods.

Really, you won't go wrong with any of them, but my preference now would be the Cascadia for the reason I stated above.

Perfect. Just the experience I was looking for. I also prefer the less-taller vines as well. Dwarf Gray Sugar peas were the first I used last year and they produced very well on the short vines - but still grew at least four feet tall (should have only grown three feet).

The Sugar Snap peas I had this year were already more than four feet tall before they even began to produce any pods on them.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog

Don't believe the catalog copy that says the short peas don't require any support. They do much better with it, and it's easier to spot the ripening pods.

I grew Sugar Snap and they grew taller than 6 feet. They almost collapsed the support I had them on. Still I prefer a pea that readily climbs a trellis, just maybe not so high. I tried Oregon Giant and it was pitiful at climbing. How does Cascadia do in this respect?

Okay, here's a reason for starting at the bottom of the threads and working my way up, instead of the other way around, LOL. I hadn't seen this earlier post on peas, but it's very interesting.

Just to mention, I don't have luck with Burpee either. I'm now getting all my seeds from Johnny's because they out-perform the others so significantly.

In any event, I appreciate the info on peas. I planted "Caselode" and am thinking maybe I'll try some different varieties and see what works best in my area. My problem with yield may also be that I let the peas get too big before picking?

Or maybe my expectations are just off. I planted two 8' rows of them in the early spring. Seeds were planted about 2" apart and the rows were about 3" apart on either side of a trellis. Out of all that, I really only got one meal for a family of 4. Granted, I pulled the plants after I picked the first batch because they were already yellowing and I didn't see loads of new peas sprouting. Maybe I didn't give them a chance to give me more?

How many shell peas does one really need to plant to get lots and lots of peas? My family loves them and would eat them every night, but instead, I'm giving them pole beans and zucchini. LOL

Cascadia is my go to variety. I like the height. It climbs nice 3 foot supports but doesn't get out of control or remind me of "Jack and the Beanstalk". Flavor is excellent even if allowed to get rather big. Its reliable and consistent in my area. And (fun fact) I believe it is not a hybrid and therefore if needed, you can save seed from one year to the next.

~Cindy

Correct cinsay. It is open-pollinated so you can wait until the pods are fully developed and take the seeds out for seed saving.

I did this with some of the Sugar Snap peas from this year - and I have 18 that I just planted a few days ago to check germination rates.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog

loribee, I have grown Caselode and it is a good yielding dwarf shelling pea, not quite as prolific as Dakota but close. I have grown Sugar Snap which has humongous vines and Sugar Ann a dwarf snap pea. I prefer the dwarf forms, because they are a lot less work. Sugar Snap has the better yield and flavor tho of the snap peas that I have tried. I drill peas at 1-2 inches in double rows 8 inches apart with 24 inches between the double rows. With shell peas I plant two lbs and get about 6 gallons of shelled peas. I do not use any support on dwarf peas.
Caselode {{gwi:17492}} {{gwi:109979}}

Very nice pictures farmerdilla.

Do you have to go through and manually open every pod to shell them? Would think that is pretty time consuming - which is why I prefer the edible pods and plump, sweet peas.

Thanks for the recommendations! Yeah, the only peas I planted before this year were the edible pod varieties, and I remember getting lots over a long period of time. So it sounds like what I got was fairly normal--I just need to know my peas. LOL

And yes, bsntech, you have to shell each one. But I think it's kinda fun. I sit at the kithen table and watch TV with a pile in front of me. Put it this way: It was a lot more enjoyable than trying to wash all the aphids off my lettuce. Now, there was an activity that ended up not being worth the effort! LOL

Hi Loribee, I also grow mostly the edible pot peas and a few shell peas. Like your experience, the edible pot peas are much more productive and usually amount to a few pounds a week from only a few plants.

But another thing I noticed was that in my garden (SF East Bay zone 8ish), the fall peas (both snow peas and shell peas) are much more productive than spring crop because they produce from fall through winter till spring/summer.