Avola Dwarf Pea

The Avola Pea (Pisum sativum in Latin) is a dwarf variety that reaches an average height of 60cm (24in), making it very well suited to small spaces such as balconies or square gardens. It is a very early and productive pea that produces pods containing up to 8 tasty peas. This pea freezes very well. It can be sown from March to June for a harvest from June to September.

This pea is part of the "Urban Garden" collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (United Kingdom), which brings together vegetable varieties particularly well adapted to container gardening.

The Pea is an annual vegetable plant belonging to the Fabaceae family (formerly Leguminosae), with ancient origins in the Near East. It is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables in Europe and Asia. It used to be consumed dry and crushed before cooking, and its consumption fresh is relatively recent.

There are many varieties of peas: dwarf or climbing (pole) peas that produce pods filled with smooth or wrinkled round grains. They are cooked after being shelled because the parchment-like pod in which they are enclosed is not edible. Only sugar snap peas (with flat, crunchy, buttery pods) are consumed in their entirety.

In general, climbing peas are more productive but less early and require a support 1.5 to 2 metres (5 to 7 feet) high for them to climb. Their harvest is easy. Dwarf or semi-dwarf peas only need a few branches (from 50cm (20in) to 1 metre (3 feet)) as support. Some recent varieties, with foliage largely replaced by tendrils, support themselves, and the use of supports is then optional.

Smooth-grained peas are resistant to spring cold. They are very early or early varieties that can be sown early in the year under cover, but they do not tolerate excessive heat.

For late spring and early summer sowings, wrinkled-grained varieties with a sweeter taste are used. They tolerate heat and offer longer harvests.

The pea is a vegetable highly appreciated in spring, but with careful selection of varieties, it can be harvested over a long period from June to September.

In cooking, peas can be consumed raw, but they are traditionally cooked to accompany meats and fish or to prepare delicious soups. They are quite calorific as they are rich in carbohydrates, and also contain a lot of fibre, iron, and vitamins C and B9.

Peas like mild and humid climates but are sensitive to extreme weather conditions such as high temperatures, frosts, as well as water shortages and excesses, which weaken them and make them susceptible to powdery mildew and the pea moth, a small caterpillar that eats the seeds.

Harvest: Depending on the variety, peas are harvested between two and a half and four months after sowing. The picking should be regular and done when the pods feel full under finger pressure. Don't wait too long... peas tend to harden as they age!

Storage: Fresh peas can be stored, unshelled, in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. They freeze very well once blanched in boiling water.

Gardener's tip: Peas, like all legumes, have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, acting as a kind of green manure. This nitrogen input is beneficial both to plants growing nearby and to those that will be planted subsequently in a crop rotation system.