I wonder why I’ve never known anyone who grows peas in the fall. I am an experienced gardener and have specialized in fall/winter vegetables. I am guessing the soil temperatures in the summer aren’t “friendly” to peas. I have some shelling pea seed that I think I’ll try, but wondered if you can find any information that will indicate how to be successful.
Your guess is a good one. Here is what Binda Colebrook says in Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest (Timber Press, 1998):
“It is theoretically possible to make a July sowing of peas and get a fall crop just before the fall frosts. The problem is that it is hard to keep these moisture-loving, cool-weather plants going through the rigors of the hottest part of summer. Even if you do manage this, there is a virus in the Northwest, called pea enation, that will cripple most varieties.”
Colebrook recommends seeking an enation-resistant variety, but further states that, having tried some of these resistant types, “so far I’d say it isn’t worth the trouble.”
Washington State University Extension doesn’t go into the specifics but you can read between the lines that a summer sowing will not result in a bumper crop of peas:
“Peas can be planted in early November for an early June crop. They may not make it every winter. Green peas and edible pod peas (sugar peas) can be planted until mid-July. A moderate harvest can be expected in fall.”
Note Westside Gardener’s blog post mention of the Alderman variety of shelling peas:
“The bad thing about older varieties of peas is they don’t have the disease resistance of newer types. Up here in the Maritime Pacific Northwest, two diseases seem to cause the most problems for pea growers. The first is powdery mildew, a non-specific fungus that we’re all familiar with. Powdery mildew often isn’t a killer though, and it can be controlled when necessary with wettable sulfur. A worse disease is Pea Enation Mosaic, which does kill non-resistant varieties. Enation is a virus which is spread by the Green Peach aphid, so controlling ranges from difficult to impossible (it only takes one aphid to infect a plant). Usually what happens is the weather warms up, and the aphids become active. Often this coincides with the peas starting to set pods heavily. When a plant becomes infected, it’s pods become warty-looking and rather woody. Soon after, the plants die. It can be very disappointing to have your plants all dry up just as you’re looking forward to harvest. As far as I know, there is no practical way to control enation. All of my favorite varieties, of course, are susceptible to Enation Mosaic.
When it comes to shelling peas, I still haven’t found anything to beat Alderman […] Some years I get a good harvest, while other years the vines are wiped out by Enation. The flavor is so good, though, that I find the gamble worthwhile. I am trying out a new pea this year, which is somewhat earlier than Alderman – Maxigolt […] Earlier maturity means it should yield more in those years enation strikes, but flavor will determine whether it unseats Alderman from its place in my garden.”