Vadito Pea is a high desert soup pea with deep roots in New Mexico's agricultural heritage, bringing authentic regional flavor and practical hardiness to the home garden. These plants grow tall and require sturdy support to reach their full potential, rewarding gardeners with tan and green seeds that are smooth and perfectly suited to hearty soups. Frost-tolerant and adaptable to cool growing seasons, Vadito thrives in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5, germinating readily when soil temperatures reach 45 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This variety comes directly from Native Seeds/SEARCH's Seed Bank Collection, preserving a specific regional landrace that has fed New Mexico families for generations.
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Vadito carries the distinct story of the high desert, a soup pea specifically selected and maintained from the mountain community of Vadito, New Mexico. Its tan and green seeds are smooth and substantial, the kind that cook down into rich, creamy broths. The plants grow tall and demand support, but that vertical growth pattern makes excellent use of small garden spaces while creating a striking visual feature. Being frost-tolerant, it handles the unpredictable spring and fall temperatures of high desert regions with ease, making it genuinely adapted to challenging climates rather than merely tolerant of them.
Vadito Pea is a soup pea, bred and selected specifically for cooking down into thick, creamy broths rather than eating fresh or as a snap pea. The dry seeds are harvested, stored, and rehydrated for use in traditional soups and stews, a preparation method well-suited to the variety's size, texture, and flavor development. Its origin in New Mexico suggests its place in regional cuisine, likely appearing in posole, bean stews, and other hearty dishes characteristic of high desert cooking.
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Direct sow Vadito seeds when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. Plant seeds at the appropriate depth and space them along sturdy trellises or support structures, as these tall-growing plants require support from emergence onward.
Allow Vadito Pea to mature fully on the vine until the pods dry and turn brown, indicating the seeds inside have hardened. Harvest entire pods when they rattle slightly when shaken, a sign the seeds have lost excess moisture. Remove seeds from dried pods by hand or by rubbing pods between your palms. Store dried seeds in a cool, dry place for use in soups and stews throughout the year.
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“Vadito Pea originates from the small mountain village of Vadito, New Mexico, where it has been grown as a staple soup pea by local farming families. Native Seeds/SEARCH, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving traditional crop varieties of the Southwest, collected and maintains this variety in their Seed Bank Collection. The catalog identifies it specifically as a high desert soup pea, indicating it was selected through generations of cultivation in that region's specific climate and growing conditions. By preserving and distributing Vadito seeds, Native Seeds/SEARCH ensures that this locally adapted variety remains available to gardeners and that the agricultural knowledge embedded in this particular landrace does not disappear.”