deep orange squach and green peas

I asked in fall and I ask for your kind guidance again...my wife wants me to grow as deep orange as possible a butternut squash. Suggestions please. Also, what about peas...has anyone grown the variety called "green arrow" which we found in the Vesey's catalog? The excitement is building!!!

Hmm...I prefer Waltham butternut...nice and orange, delish.

As for peas, I've never grown "green arrow". What is it about that one that you like so much? And what kind of pea are you looking for...bush peas, pole peas, sugar snaps, cowpeas, butterpeas? (I luvs my peas! Gotta know!)

Shoe.

Personally, while I love the taste of English Peas, the amount of work to shell them is not worth it to me. I am deffinately a sugar snap pea person. Only, not many in gardens past have ever made it inside the house - they are soooo yummy about an inch smaller than the catalogs tell you to pick. Sweet. Mmmm. Will the ground ever thaw!

I hate shelling English peas too, but someone told me to dip 'em in boiling water a few seconds, then into cold (like blanching, but not so long). Then squeeze one end.

Worth a try.

Kmom, I know what you mean....when sugar snaps are ready, I tend to just graze in the garden! Wonderful! It nearly kills me when I have to pick them for the mkt sales...I almost hope people won't buy any so I can munch on the "lack of sales" on the ride home!

I've gotten (over the years) to where I don't mind shelling peas. I just plop down in front of a good TV show or sit on the porch w/friends and shell them, I don't even think about it. (and when they are that fresh, they are sweet! so I tend to nibble as I shell!)

Zeppy, I dunk butterbeans in boiling water, then lay them out on a screen in the sun for a few minutes to drain...yes, it certainly makes them easier to shell EXCEPT when you leave them in the hot water too long; if you do, they get too limp and they are hard to snap open.

Green Arrows have two advantages ; Taste and yield. Best tasting and best yielding pea that I have ever grow, It is medium tall and needs something to climb on tho. Long thin pods. Much easier to shell and much better flavor than Early Bird/Progress # 9 but a week or so later in maturity. Not quite as heat tolerant either.

Seconding Shoe's vote for Waltham.

Is Green Arrow referred to as a "bush bean?" Or is there another cultivar by the same name? The one at my local seed company (Wetsels) lists as 28 inches high. I don't want to get the wrong one.

Also, I plan to put cukes and tomatoes where the peas grew. Is this a problem? I think I've got time to do it, as the peas go in the ground in a week or so and the cukes not till mid May. I have deep beds with lots of compost.

No, we are talking "English peas" Wetzel would have them. There may be a snap bean with the same name but I am not aware of it. The pea falls into the 2-3 ft vine category.

I'm a dummy: I meant "bush pea" not bean. I think they call all their English peas bush peas. Not sure why. Thanks!

Thanks for the responses. Green Arrow peas are shell peas. I intend on growing them in Eath Boxes. I left the choice to my wife who chose them based on their dark green photograph and description of heavy yield and "superb" flavor. I mentioned to her that catalog descriptions should be taken with a grain of salt. For my part, I am happy just to be growing plants and if that is what she wants I am happy to provide it.

Have not heard the term "bush" pea for English pea. Use to use Wetzel and Southern States Coop, for most seeds when I lived in Viginia. Just for information, English peas can fit into three categoies. Short vine Less than 2 ft (most average about 16 inches) Little marvel is a good example. 2-3 ft like Green Arrow and more than 3 ft. Example Tall Telephone which can go 4 ft or more

F-dill, the term "bush pea" is a fairly new term. And yep, you're right on the mark with the height of them. Apparently they are considered "bush" if you don't really need to trellis them. (As for me, one reason I like LP#9 is because I can broadcast them and they since they stay so short they tend to support each other, as opposed to having to string/trellis them.)

escubed, please let us know how you do growing peas in an Earthbox...not many peas are produced per plant so I'm wondering if using the Earthbox is a good use of it.

Zeppy, "Also, I plan to put cukes and tomatoes where the peas grew. Is this a problem?". Nope, no problem at all! That's a great successive crop to plant after peas. I even like to follow peas with bush beans (even broadcast them, too!). Between the two of those (peas and beans) they put a judicial amount of N in the soil, the plants (when tilled under) really contribute to good tilth, and I usually have plenty of season left to plant Brassica's (brocolli, cabbage, collards, etc) in the same area. Ya gotta love it!

Shoe.

Shoe,
I'm not sure that I have a plan for growing the peas in the EB's. I thought I might plant 8 or 12 in a box and grow them up a trellis. Same thing for the squash. As for yield, I haven't grown peas in years so I need to take that under advisement. I'm also not sure that our growing season is long enough to do both peas and cukes in the same box in the same season. Anybody from up here with an opinion?

Am now thinking ...I sow pea seeds VERY closely. I bet you could sow more than 8 to 12 in an EB (heck, I plant my peas as close together as 2 inches in the ground; I bet in an EB you could do that as well.

As for peas-followed-by-cukes...I bet you have time for growing cukes (or tomatoes!) after your peas go by. Most folks don't plant those warm weather crops until, well, warm weather. Peas are somewhat shortlived, you'll get a few pickings then they'll die out when the heat comes on. (With the exception of something like Wando pea; it is much more hardy and productive when warm weather comes on as opposed to many other varieties.)

No matter what, I think you'll have fun!

You can always start the cukes indoors so that you have a jump on their season when they do go in after the peas.

thanks for the advice, Shoe!

The surface area of an EB is about 450 sq in (about 30x15) so you might be suggesting 65 pea plants in an EB (if my in the head math is right). Hey, I'm willing to give it a shot. I had already been thinking about trying mesculun so why not? And I'll start the cukes indoors in just a short while . Which brings up the topic of cuke varieties that I'll save for later.

Another pea question. How do you plant early vs later English peas? You just do a row of one, and a row of another, or mix them up, or put one on the more southern side of the A frame or trellis, and another on the other side? I want to plant Frosty, Green Arrow, and probably Wando. (I have a separate place for sugar snap peas)

I have a trellis in a 3x30 ft bed, and I plan to extend netting out less than a foot on either side (planting a thin line of cabbage/lettuce down the middle), so sort of an A-frame with peas on both sides.

I plant them seperately. I plant in double rows 4-6 inches apart, with 18 inches to two feet between the double rows. Like Shoes broadcast method, which I am going to try one of these days, the short peas hold each other up, a row of light fencing between the taller peas take care of them. Frosty is a pretty good early pea, Green Arrow, a superb midseason pea, and Wando is a good late season pea. Because the season for peas is so short, even in Virginia I plant them all at the same time. Because of the difference in thier maturity, there is not much overlap in harvesting them.

Exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks very much.