Snow peas belong to the genus Pisum in the legume family (Fabaceae). They are annual twining herbaceous plants, 90-180 cm tall. The earliest region where snow peas were cultivated was along the border zone of Thailand-Myanmar about 12,000 years ago. The round-bodied ones are also called honey peas or honey beans, while the flat-bodied ones are called green peas or snow peas, and there are also many other names such as xiaohandou, huaidou, madou, qingxiaodou, liudou, jindou, huihuidou, maiwandou, maidou, bidou, malei, guodou, soft-pod peas, podded peas, sweet peas, horendou, qingban, and vegetable peas. They can be used for food. Snow peas, also known as horendou or jiandou, belong to the genus Pisum in the legume family. They are mainly grown for their tender pods, and originated along the Mediterranean coast and in western Asia. Snow pea tender pods are crisp and delicately fragrant, with high nutritional value. Cooked dry snow peas provide twice the solids, calories, carbohydrates and protein of cooked green snow peas, but green snow peas contain more vitamin A and vitamin C than dry snow peas.</p><p></p><p>The origin and evolution of snow peas</p><p>Origin of snow peas: Snow peas (horendou) are not produced in the Netherlands. The reason they are called "Dutch peas" (helan dou) is that the Dutch brought them from their place of origin to China.</p><p>Evolution of snow peas: In the 17th century, the Dutch, relying on their powerful naval fleet, dominated Taiwan, China and the islands of the South Seas in Southeast Asia, bringing various imported goods from around the world, and so the local residents began to call them Dutch peas. Later, the Minnan and Chaoshan people who went to the South Seas and abroad brought them back to their hometowns, and also followed the local way of calling them, calling helan dou "helan dou". Interestingly, "helan dou" (Dutch peas) are called "Chinese peas" in the Netherlands; it is just mutual modesty and humour. It has no meaning whatsoever.</p><p>Medicinal value of snow peas</p><p>Benefits the spleen and stomach: Snow peas are neutral in nature and sweet in taste, with effects such as harmonising the middle and descending qi, promoting urination, and resolving sore toxins. They can benefit the spleen and harmonise the stomach, promote fluid production and quench thirst, relieve hiccups, stop diarrhoea and dysentery, quench thirst and promote lactation, and treat constipation. Regular consumption is effective for weak spleen and stomach, lower abdominal distension, vomiting and diarrhoea, failure of milk secretion after childbirth, and vexing heat and thirst. Its seeds, crushed into powder and applied externally, can resolve carbuncles and swellings. Cooked as porridge with glutinous rice and red dates, it has the effects of tonifying the spleen and stomach, helping to warm the body and dispel cold, promoting fluid production and tonifying deficiency, and strengthening muscles and building the body. Snow peas can benefit the spleen and harmonise the stomach, promote fluid production and quench thirst, harmonise the middle and descend qi, relieve hiccups, stop diarrhoea and dysentery, and promote urination. Eaten regularly, they are effective for weak spleen and stomach, lower abdominal distension, vomiting and diarrhoea, failure of milk secretion after childbirth, and vexing heat and thirst.</p><p>Beneficial to metabolism: They also play an important role in enhancing the body's metabolic function. Eating immature legume pods without cooking them thoroughly can easily cause poisoning, so one must be careful.</p><p>How to cultivate snow peas for high yields?</p><p>1. Land preparation and fertilisation. Pea taproots penetrate relatively deep into the soil and have well-developed root systems. To ensure the yield of snow peas, open-field planting should be done in the autumn of the previous year, choosing a plot that has not grown legume crops that year, with loose soil texture, relatively high fertility, irrigation and drainage capacity, and neutral soil pH. Apply about 30 tonnes of decomposed farmyard manure, 300 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 150 kg of potassium sulfate per hectare. Deep plough, rake level, and form ridges 70 cm wide and 15 cm high.</p><p>2. Sowing</p><p>1. Sowing time is generally after the plot has been prepared before winter; when the surface soil has thawed to a depth of 10 cm, sowing can begin on frozen soil. Sowing time is generally in early May, and no later than 10 May.</p><p>2. Snow peas are generally sown in drills. Open a furrow in the prepared ridge, 3 to 4 cm deep, scatter the seeds in the furrow at a spacing of 2 to 3 cm, then cover with soil and press down, with a soil cover thickness of about 3 cm. The seeding rate per hectare is 105 to 120 kg. 3. Field management</p><p>1. Plant adjustment. After the snow pea seedlings have emerged uniformly, cultivation, weeding and soil moisture conservation should be strengthened. When tendrils appear and there are 5 to 6 true leaves, set up trellises and guide the branches onto them. A single-ridge straddle trellis method can be used: insert one support pole on each side of a ridge, drive them firmly, tie the tops together with string facing each other, tie a pair of poles every 2 metres, then at a point 20 cm above the ground on each side of the ridge, wrap strong string once around each upright pole until both sides of the entire ridge are tied, keeping the snow pea seedlings within the strings on both sides. As the snow pea seedlings gradually grow taller, gradually tie the strings upward on both sides at 20 cm intervals, always keeping the snow pea stems within the strings on both sides to avoid vine overturning. For reinforcement, add horizontal poles along the ridge on the paired poles of each ridge and tie them firmly.</p><p>2. Fertiliser and water management. During the seedling stage of snow peas, fertiliser and water should be appropriately restrained. Irrigate promptly at flowering. During the entire flowering and fruiting period, pay attention to timely watering, and combine with topdressing 2-3 times, applying about 225 kg of urea per hectare with the irrigation water.</p><p>4. How to control pests and diseases. The main diseases of snow peas are rust, brown spot, downy mildew and powdery mildew. They can be controlled by spraying 200-300 times dilution of 20 percent triadimefon wettable powder, or 1000 times dilution of 65 percent metalaxyl wettable powder, or 2000 times dilution of 5 percent procymidone wettable powder. Among insect pests, the pea leafminer is the most common. Control methods should seize the critical moment from the peak egg-laying period to the early hatching period to spray pesticides. Commonly used agents include 2000-3000 times dilution of 1.8 percent abamectin, or 1000-1500 times dilution of 2.5 percent bifenthrin for spray control.</p><p>5. Harvesting</p><p>Snow peas are grown for harvesting tender pods for export abroad and supply to the market. The harvest standard is generally about 10 days after flowering, when the pods have fully grown, with pod length 6 to 7 cm, but the peas inside the pods have not yet swollen, the pods are very thin, and the pod thickness does not exceed 0.5 cm, which is the best harvest period. The harvest period generally lasts 30 to 50 days.</p>
Snow peas belong to the genus Pisum in the legume family Fabaceae. They are annual climbing herbaceous plants, growing 90-180 cm tall. The earliest region where snow peas were cultivated was along the border between Thailand and Myanmar, about 12,000 years ago. The round ones are also called honey peas or honey beans, while the flat ones are called green peas or snow peas. They also have many other names, such as xiaohandou, huaidou, madou, qingxiaodou, liudou, jindou, huihuidou, maiwandou, maidou, bidou, malei, guodou, soft-pod peas, podded peas, sweet peas, herendou, qingban, and vegetable peas. They can be eaten. Snow peas are also called herendou or jiandou, and belong to the genus Pisum in the legume family Fabaceae. They are mainly grown for their tender pods. Their place of origin is the Mediterranean coast and western Asia. Snow pea pods are crisp and lightly fragrant, with high nutritional value. Cooked dry snow peas provide twice the solids, calories, carbohydrates, and protein of cooked green snow peas, but green snow peas contain more vitamin A and vitamin C than dry snow peas.
The Origin and Evolution of Snow Peas
Origin of snow peas: Snow peas are not produced in the Netherlands. They are called snow peas because the Dutch brought them to China from their place of origin.
Evolution of snow peas: In the 17th century, the Dutch, relying on their powerful naval fleet, controlled Taiwan, China and the islands of the South Seas in Southeast Asia. They brought various imported goods from around the world, and so local residents began to call them snow peas. Later, the Minnan and Chaoshan people who traveled to the South Seas and settled abroad brought them back to their hometowns, and also continued to use the local name, calling snow peas snow peas. Interestingly, "snow peas" are called "Chinese peas" in the Netherlands; this is merely mutual modesty and humor between the two sides. It has no other meaning.
Medicinal Value of Snow Peas
Benefits the spleen and stomach: Snow peas are neutral in nature and sweet in taste. They have effects such as harmonizing the middle and directing qi downward, promoting urination, and resolving sores and toxins. They can benefit the spleen and stomach, promote fluid production and quench thirst, relieve hiccups, stop diarrhea and dysentery, quench thirst and promote lactation, and treat constipation. Regular consumption is effective for weakness of the spleen and stomach, lower abdominal distension and fullness, vomiting and diarrhea, insufficient postpartum milk, and irritability, heat, and thirst. Its seeds can be crushed into powder and applied externally to reduce carbuncles and swelling. When cooked as porridge with glutinous rice and red dates, it has the effects of tonifying the spleen and stomach, helping to warm the body and dispel cold, promoting fluid production and tonifying deficiency, and strengthening muscles and building the body. Snow peas can benefit the spleen and stomach, promote fluid production and quench thirst, harmonize the middle and direct qi downward, relieve hiccups, stop diarrhea and dysentery, and promote urination. Regular consumption is effective for weakness of the spleen and stomach, lower abdominal distension and fullness, vomiting and diarrhea, insufficient postpartum milk, and irritability, heat, and thirst.
Beneficial to metabolism: It also plays an important role in enhancing the body's metabolic function. Eating beans that are not cooked through can easily cause poisoning, so one must be careful.
How to cultivate snow peas for high yield?
1. Land preparation and fertilization. Peas have relatively deep taproots and well-developed root systems. To ensure the yield of snow peas, open-field planting should be done in the autumn of the previous year, choosing a plot with loose soil, relatively strong fertility, irrigation and drainage capacity, and neutral soil pH that has not grown legume crops in the same year. Apply about 30 tons of decomposed farmyard manure, 300 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 150 kg of potassium sulfate per hectare. Deep plow, level with a rake, and form ridges. The ridges should be 70 cm wide and 15 cm high.
2. Sowing
1. Sowing time is generally before winter after the plot has been prepared. When the surface soil has thawed to a depth of 10 cm, sowing can be done on frozen soil. The sowing time is generally in early May, and no later than May 10.
2. Snow peas are generally sown in drills. Open furrows in the prepared ridges to a depth of 3 to 4 cm, scatter the seeds in the furrows at a spacing of 2 to 3 cm, then cover with soil and press down. The soil cover thickness should be about 3 cm. The seeding rate per hectare is 105 to 120 kg. 3. Field management
1. Plant adjustment. After the snow pea seedlings emerge fully, cultivation and weeding should be strengthened and soil moisture preserved. When tendrils begin to grow and there are 5 to 6 true leaves, set up trellises and guide the branches onto them. A single-ridge straddle trellis method can be used. Insert one support pole on each side of a ridge, drive them firmly, and tie the tops together with string. Tie a pair of poles every 2 meters, then wrap sturdy string around each vertical pole at a point 20 cm above the ground on each side of the ridge until both sides of the entire ridge are tied, keeping the snow pea seedlings within the strings on both sides. As the snow pea seedlings gradually grow taller, gradually tie the strings upward at 20 cm intervals, always keeping the snow pea stems within the strings on both sides to avoid vine turning. For reinforcement, add horizontal bars along the ridge on the paired poles and tie them firmly.
2. Fertilizer and water management. During the seedling stage of snow peas, fertilizer and water should be appropriately restricted. Water promptly at flowering. During the entire flowering and fruiting period, water timely and apply topdressing 2 to 3 times in combination, applying about 225 kg of urea per hectare with irrigation.
4. How to prevent and control pests and diseases. The main diseases of snow peas include rust, brown spot, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. They can be sprayed with a 200 to 300 times dilution of 20% triadimefon wettable powder, or a 1000 times dilution of 65% metalaxyl wettable powder, or a 2000 times dilution of 5% procymidone wettable powder. Among insect pests, the pea leafminer is the most common. Control methods should seize the key moment from the peak egg-laying period to the early egg-hatching period to spray pesticides. Commonly used agents include a 2000 to 3000 times dilution of 1.8% abamectin, or a 1000 to 1500 times dilution of 2.5% Uranus for spray control.
5. Harvesting
Snow peas are grown to harvest tender pods for export abroad and for supply to the market. The harvest standard is generally about 10 days after flowering, when the pods have fully grown, with pod length 6 to 7 cm, but the peas inside the pods have not yet expanded and the pods are very thin, with pod thickness not exceeding 0.5 cm as the best harvest period. The harvest period can generally reach 30 to 50 days.