Maple Pea is a hardy, open-pollinated heirloom variety of garden pea (Pisum sativum) prized for its round, mottled brown-and-beige seeds and mild, nutty flavor. This vigorous vining annual grows 12 to 36 inches tall and matures in 70 to 79 days, making it quick enough for spring and fall gardens across hardiness zones 1 through 9. Beyond the kitchen, Maple Pea has earned its place in vegetable gardens and farm fields as a cover crop and nitrogen-fixer, building soil health while feeding your family.
Full Sun
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1-9
36in H x ?in W
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High
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Maple Pea carries the kind of dual purpose that makes it invaluable to gardeners who think beyond a single harvest. The seeds themselves are striking: brown and beige mottled rather than the typical uniform green, with a subtle nutty sweetness that works beautifully in soups and stews. Hardy enough to tolerate cool spring conditions and frost, this variety produces its own nitrogen, leaving your soil richer after the season ends.
Maple Pea is primarily grown for dry peas used in soups, stews, and split pea dishes where its nutty flavor adds depth. The seeds can be sprouted for fresh greens or used in livestock feed. Young tender pods and shoots can be eaten fresh, though the variety is most commonly allowed to mature fully for seed production and nitrogen fixation in garden rotations and cover cropping.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow seeds directly in the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring, as Maple Pea is a cool-season crop that germinates readily in cool soil. Plant in full sun in well-draining soil with pH between 6.0 and 7.5.
For microgreens, harvest at 8 to 12 days after germination by cutting above soil level. For mature dry peas, allow pods to fully mature on the vine until they turn brown and papery, then harvest by hand or pull entire plants and hang to dry completely before threshing seeds from pods.
No pruning is required. Simply provide sturdy trellising or support structures for the vining growth habit, allowing plants to climb naturally to their mature height of 12 to 36 inches.
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“Maple Pea is an heirloom, open-pollinated variety with deep roots in traditional agriculture. It has been grown for generations as a dry pea for soups, livestock feed, and sprouting, valued across diverse farming systems from small homesteads to larger operations. The variety's preservation as a seed crop reflects generations of farmers who recognized its reliability and dual-purpose nature, saving seeds year after year so gardeners today can access the same hardy stock.”