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Fabaceae
Pisum sativum 'Wando'
Garden Pea, Shelling Pea
The shelling pea, ‘Wando’, is a relatively heat resistant plant that was introduced in 1943 by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a shrubby, sturdy cultivar that produces lots of medium-sized peas that are shelled and eaten fresh or dried. These tend to mature later than most and are generally ready to harvest 68 to 70 day after seeding.
Few cool season crops are as satisfying and welcome in spring as the humble garden pea. Peas have been cultivated for their edible seeds and pods for thousands of years. Their area of origin is thought to be the eastern Mediterranean region, including Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, where wild pea plants still exist. These herbaceous annuals have four distinct cultivation types: pod peas that are shelled for fresh peas, pod peas that are shelled for dried peas, immature (mangetout) snow pea pods that are flat and crisp, and immature (mangetout) sugar snap pods that are crisp, fleshy and sweet. Shell peas like ‘Wando’ take some work to shell but are delicious and well worth the effort.p> This pea is a vining type, so it is best trellised. Its pale green leaves are compound with rounded leaflets arranged in pairs on the leaf stem. The leaves are tipped with branched, curled tendrils that curl around objects and help the fine pea stems climb. The white pea flowers are lightly fragrant. Each has a large, rounded upper petal subtended by smaller central petals that form a lip, or keeled beak. The blooms are produced in loose clusters on short stems among the foliage.
Full sun and rich, friable soil with good drainage is needed for vigorous growth and fruit set. Peas are cool season vegetables, so in the north temperate zones they are planted in early spring as soon as the soil is workable or in fall, once temperatures are cool again. In southern, frost-free zones they are planted in winter. Pea seeds should be directly sown in the ground because seedlings do not transplant well. Overwatering seeds before they germinate can lead to seed rot, so be sure to keep them moderately moist, never wet.
Like many members of the bean family, peas have a mutually beneficial relationship with a bacterium called Rhizobium, which allows plants to add nitrogen to the soil. Seeds and plants often do better if tossed in a commercially available Rhizobium inoculum before planting.
12 - 1
A1, A2, A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Vegetable
Full Sun, Partial Sun
24"-36" / 61.0cm - 91.4cm
Early Spring, Spring, Late Spring, Fall, Late Fall, Early Winter, Winter, Late Winter
Hybrid Origin
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Fast
Average Water
Vining/Climbing
Spring, Fall, Winter
Showy
White
Green
Yes
No
Single
Medium
Matte
Edible, Herb / Vegetable, Vine
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