A tale of 3 peas

Back in the fall, my husband and I were discussing growing peas for the first time this spring.  I wanted snow or snap peas, so he suggested getting both.  He ALSO suggested getting shelling peas.

Snap peas

I immediately turned up my nose and refused: "I don't like shelling peas! I don't want to waste my precious garden space on them."

But, he was insistent on growing the shelling peas, so I begrudgingly offered to let him grow the shelling peas on the garden fence, thinking this way 'MY' peas would have the premium trellis locations that are safe from the deer.

And sure enough, the deer got to the shelling peas, severely limiting their production. But the little guys persevered and produced enough for 4 large helpings of shelled peas in the spring.

This is where I'd like to end the story, because I don't want to admit that my husband was right and I was wrong (he takes too much delight in it).  But, in all honesty -- I was wrong.

I LOVED the shelling peas -- they were absolutely fantastic!  And to shame myself even further: I didn't like the snap and snow peas very much.  My favorite peas of the three varieties we grew were the shelling, and I wish we'd grown nothing but the shelling because I enjoyed them so much.

These snow peas are part of my lunch -- they are just
sitting on my desk staring at me. I'm not very excited about
eating them.

You live, you learn.

We decided that this fall and next spring, we are only going to plant shelling peas.  I wonder how productive they will be without being half-eaten by the deer?

Here are the varieties we grew:
Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow --> Super productive, but not great tasting.
Sugar Ann Snap --> Pretty tasty, but not very productive.
Green Arrow Shelling  --> AWESOME tasting!