Dwarf Grey Sugar Peas did not please

15 years ago

We like snap peas so much here that I decided to add a bed of Dwarf Grey Sugar in addition to my large patch of Sugar Sprint. Just meant to try another dwarf edible-podded pea and see how we liked it. Well, the germination was fantastic, the growth phenomenal, the flowers beautiful, but it ended there. The plants grew well taller than the indicated height on the seed pack (forget exactly what the claim was)and so just as the peas started forming the whole 3 by 3 bed of them fell sideways as they were inadequately supported (hey I was expecting a dwarf variety!). Then the peas themselves, by the millions, were very disappointing. If you don't pick them right away when they're small and flat they turn tough and fibrous such that you can't even chew them down. I think they would only be a candidate for stir-frying, if that. Next year I will double up on the Sugar Sprint, which is fabulous. No more Dwarf Grey Sugar for me!

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Comments (3)

pnbrown
15 years ago
DGS is a very old variety with some advantages: widely adapted, vigourous, and usable as a young snow-pea, shelly, and dry. The colonists certainly used it for all three. You are correct - it's not the tenderest snow-pea by a long shot. Nor is it the best-tasting shelly (though I rather like the starchy older shellies). But it's productive and reliable. For those of us with limited space it may not be a great choice, but if I had the space I'd grow a half-acre of it.
raisemybeds
Original Author
15 years ago
And if I even HAD a half-acre ......
farmerdilla
15 years ago
There are better snow peas, but no snow pea will be confused with snap peas. All snow peas have to be used ( pods) before the seeds form. They are good in stir frys and other Oriental dishes. Mammoth Melting Sugar is better tham Dwarf Grey. The tendrils and tips of the vine can also be put to good use.