Cumpas Green Pea is a smooth green pea variety with deep historical roots in central Sonora, Mexico, where it was grown by the Opata people near the town of Cumpas. This productive cultivar has been preserved through Native Seeds/SEARCH's Seed Bank Collection and thrives across a wide range of climates, from USDA zones 3 through 11. The dried peas are traditionally used in soups, making this variety as much a pantry staple as a garden crop. Its frost tolerance and adaptability make it reliable for gardeners in diverse climates who want both a beautiful crop and a connection to indigenous food traditions.
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3-11
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Moderate
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Cumpas Green Pea carries the story of the Opata people and the agricultural traditions of central Sonora in every seed. This smooth green pea is remarkably productive and transitions seamlessly from fresh to dried storage, a dual-purpose capability that many modern varieties have lost. The ability to germinate across a wide temperature range (45-75°F) means you can sow early in spring or later in the season without waiting for perfect conditions, and its frost tolerance lets you push both ends of the growing season.
Cumpas Green Pea shines as a dried soup pea, where its smooth texture and reliable productivity make it ideal for traditional preparations. The dried peas cook down into hearty, nourishing soups that have sustained families in Sonora and beyond. While you can eat them fresh from the pod as a sweet pea if harvested young, their real power emerges after drying, when they transform into a pantry ingredient that stores for years.
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Direct sow Cumpas Green Pea into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring, or in late summer for a fall harvest. The wide germination temperature range (45-75°F) means you don't need to wait for warm soil like you would for beans. Space seeds about 2 inches apart in rows 18-24 inches apart, or plant in clusters if using a trellising system. Water gently after sowing and keep soil consistently moist until seedlings emerge.
For fresh eating, pick pods when they feel plump and full but before they begin to yellow or dry. For seed production and drying, allow pods to mature fully on the plant until they turn brown and papery, and the peas inside rattle when you shake the pod. This typically takes several weeks after flowering. Harvest mature pods by hand, then shell the dried peas and store them in a cool, dry place.
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“This variety comes directly from Cumpas, a region in central Sonora that was once home to the Opata people, an indigenous culture with deep knowledge of desert and semi-arid agriculture. Native Seeds/SEARCH, a nonprofit seed organization based in Arizona, has preserved Cumpas Green Pea through their Seed Bank Collection, recognizing its importance both as a nutritious crop and as a living link to Opata foodways. By growing and saving this seed, gardeners become stewards of agricultural heritage that might otherwise have been lost to industrial monoculture.”