As a transplanted Yankee I've only grown the one kind so far, Pink Eye (Purple Hull) but I really like it! I think I chose it on someone's opinion here, but also my new neighbor (a retired farmer of some good years) says they're his favorite too. I wish the local farmer's market sold peas so I could try some variety, but I haven't seen any yet.

Well, now I'm questioning my supposition, Reefisher. Usually, powdery mildew is a late season problem in my garden. Many plants get it but squash & melons seem to be the most susceptible. The peas from an April planting are long gone by late Summer/early Autumn but the vines have some mildew by the time they are pulled in July. Planting Oregon SugarPod in August doesn't really allow for pod development here - therefore, we are just growing them for the tendrils. They don't get tall enuf before frosts begin (usually after mid-September) to even require a trellis. Older bean plants also get mildew but the ground for early peas usually provides a home for a July planting of green beans. Seems to work without much trouble altho' if I run very late into the month - frost may kill the beans before I get a crop. If your March crop got mildew in May, I think you've just found that this variety prefers Autumn growing conditions. Maybe, we can "tear a page from your garden notebook" and plant Ho Lan Dow late. I don't see a "VPs003" behind the name but Stokes sells Ho Lan Dow - which means I don't really have an excuse for not giving 'em a try over all these years of pea-pickin'. I've got to say that your temps in December look to be warmer than ours were in late September but . . . you never can tell. Steve

I just had a possibly awesome idea: what if I plant snow peas like a cover crop for my plot in the late fall, and then cut them to the ground for the tasty shoots, then let them grow back (the second growth is too tough to eat as sprouts) to serve as a cover crop? In order to judge whether or not this will work I need to know 1) will they survive being cut in cool weather and 2) do they really work well at fixing nitrogen for the soil and protecting from nutrient loss? Maybe I'd better ask the folks on the soil forum about this.

Georgia, I agree with the statement "you may not be able to find anyone who has even heard of it in another state"! I had to spend 2 years in Alabama with a job transfer, 18 years ago. I am from SC. They had never heard of Hercules! I had my saved seed and gave a few out to the gardeners at work. Planted the rest. I took some to work in my crockpot and told them to help themselves at lunch time. They went wild over them! The guys that I gave seed to kept the seed from theirs for replanting, because they liked them so much. One guy called me about 5 years later to tell me He had been giving seeds to his neighbors and friends, and everyone was crazy about them. I am now a legend in Andalusia Alabama! LOL I wanted to call him for some seed after I lost all of mine due to drought and deer, but I couldn't find his phone number!