Snap Pea
Sugar Magnolia Snap Pea is an open-pollinated purple snap pea bred by legendary seed saver Alan Kapuler, whose decades of work through Peace Seeds created varieties now cherished across multiple generations of gardening families. This vigorous vining pea reaches 60 inches tall and produces snappy, delicious purple pods ready to harvest in just 70 days, thriving in zones 3 through 11. The edible tendrils and shoots add another layer of harvest value, making this variety as abundant as it is beautiful.
Full Sun
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3-11
60in H x 10in W
Annual
High
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Purple pods with a distinctive twist showcase Alan Kapuler's breeding vision, while the hyper-extended tendrils and edible shoots extend your harvest beyond the pods themselves. Frost-tolerant and cold-hardy from zone 3 onward, this pea germinates reliably at just 40°F, allowing early spring planting for a long, productive season. The combination of flavor, vigor, and the ability to harvest multiple edible parts from a single plant makes this cultivar feel like a legacy worth carrying forward in your garden.
The snappy purple pods are eaten fresh from the vine, their crisp texture and sweet flavor making them irresistible straight out of the garden. The edible tendrils and shoots can be harvested continuously throughout the season, adding delicate greens to salads, stir-fries, or eaten as a fresh snack. This dual-harvest capability makes the plant generous with its yield, whether you're picking pods at their prime or harvesting the tender climbing vines for another kind of crop.
Sow seeds directly outside 4 to 6 weeks before your average last frost date, when soil temperature is at least 40°F, ideally between 60°F and 80°F. For a fall harvest, sow again 10 to 12 weeks before your average first frost date. In mild climates, sow in fall or winter for winter harvest.
Pick snap pods when they are full, plump, and still tender, typically 70 days after sowing. The pods should snap crisply when bent; if they bend without breaking, they're still perfect but may be slightly past peak tenderness. Harvest tendrils and shoots by pinching off the uppermost 4 to 6 inches of vine growth throughout the season as they emerge. Regular harvesting encourages continued production.
No pruning is necessary for this vining variety. Allow the plant to climb its support structure naturally, though you may selectively remove any damaged or diseased growth to maintain plant health.
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“Sugar Magnolia Snap Pea carries the fingerprints of Alan Kapuler, an Oregon farmer and visionary who spent his life growing, saving, and breeding open-pollinated plants through his organization Peace Seeds. Known affectionately as Mushroom for his unconventional approach to agriculture, Kapuler became a seed guardian for generations, developing varieties that twisted and reached with almost organic exuberance. His children inherited both his passion and his work, becoming seed people themselves, weaving this pea variety into a family legacy that continues to influence home gardeners today. The cultivar itself reflects Kapuler's philosophy: abundant, beautiful, and designed to nourish both body and the practice of seed saving.”