There are two types of peas available for home gardening - shelling peas and edible pod peas, explained Bill Mansour, vegetable crops specialist at Oregon State University. Shelling peas are grown for their round, sweet peas. Both have pods more tender and edible than those of shelling peas. Both the peas and its pod are meant to be eaten intact and are delicious cooked or raw. The Oriental podded peas have thin, tender, edible walls, and are often eaten when the peas are still tiny.
Snap peas have round pods with thick walls.
Sugar Daddy snap peas have the added attraction of having stringless pods. When ordering or buying pea seed, pay attention to potential vine height. Some have tall vines that need trellising and others have short vines that don't need as much support. Peas can be planted as early as mid-January in the Oregon Coast and Willamette Valley regions, but waiting until later is less of a gamble. Gardeners in the Columbia and Snake River areas can plant their peas in March.