Pea Douce Provence organic seeds

The organic Douce Provence Dwarf Pea is an old French variety prized for its earliness and cold resistance, ideal for early sowings. This compact plant, reaching about 50 cm in height, offers a good yield. It produces straight pods containing 7 to 9 sweet and smooth peas of a beautiful bright green. This versatile pea can be consumed fresh, canned, or frozen. It can be sown from February to April for a summer harvest, or in October-November in regions with a mild climate for a spring harvest.

The organic pea (Pisum sativum) is an annual vegetable plant belonging to the Fabaceae family (formerly Leguminosae), originating from the Middle East. Cultivated for millennia in Europe and Asia, it is among the first domesticated vegetables. Historically consumed dry and crushed before cooking, its use in fresh form is relatively recent.

There is a wide diversity of peas, whether dwarf or climbing (pole), producing pods containing round, smooth, or wrinkled grains. Shelled peas require removing the parchment-like pod, which is not edible, while varieties like sugar snap peas are consumed entirely due to their flat and crunchy pods.

Climbing peas, such as 'King of Canning', although more productive, require 1.5 to 2 metre supports for their growth and are generally less early. Their harvest remains easy. On the other hand, dwarf or semi-dwarf peas, reaching between 50 cm and 1 metre in height, require little support, sometimes none for modern varieties with self-supporting tendrils.

Smooth-grained peas are suitable for early sowings as they withstand spring coolness well but tolerate summer heat poorly. Sweeter wrinkled pea varieties are better suited for late sowings, offering extended harvests during hot months.

Depending on the varieties, peas can be harvested between 2.5 and 4 months after sowing, usually from June to September. Regular picking is essential, pods should be picked when full and still tender. With age, the peas become harder.

In the kitchen, peas, although they can be consumed raw, are often cooked to accompany meats, fish, or soups. Rich in carbohydrates, fibre and iron, as well as vitamins C and B9, it is a nutritious and slightly calorific vegetable.

Cultivation-wise, peas prefer mild and humid climates. They are sensitive to extremes, such as excessive heat, frosts, or poor water management, which can promote diseases like powdery mildew or pest attacks like the pea moth.

For storage: fresh peas can be kept unshelled in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator or can be frozen after a quick blanching.

Finally, a benefit of peas lies in their ability to fix nitrogen from the air in the soil, thus enriching the ground for neighbouring or subsequent crops in a crop rotation. In this way, they act as a true natural green fertiliser, beneficial for the vegetable garden.