Description

The Perfected Tradition, The Pea That Honours Centuries of Cultivation

Green Arrow is the kind of pea that feels like coming home.

Not a novelty, not a trick of breeding, not a reinvention. This is the pea gardeners have trusted for generations because it does precisely what a pea should do. It rises in cool spring soil with that steady confidence peas always carry, climbs neatly upward, and sets pod after pod like it was born to feed a household. The harvest is classic and deeply satisfying: dark green pods, long and well-filled, and inside them peas that taste like the accurate idea of a pea, sweet, earthy, and clean, with a softness that turns buttery the moment they meet heat.

There is a particular joy in growing a variety like this, a joy that isn’t about surprise, but about reliability. Green Arrow doesn’t ask you to gamble. It rewards you with abundance, with uniformity, with the quiet dignity of a crop that has been refined by centuries of hands and seasons. It’s the pea you grow when you want your garden to feel rooted in history: a bowl of peas on the table, a pot on the stove, and the sense that you’re participating in something older than you.

A whisper of history

Developed in England in the early 20th century (often placed in the 1920s and 1930s), Green Arrow reflects the height of traditional English pea breeding, a main-crop style pea selected for dependable yields, well-filled pods, and classic flavour.

What You’ll Grow

• Plant type: Cool-season annual
• Growth habit: upright, climbing vine
• Vine height: typically 60 to 90 cm (2 to 3 ft)
• Pods: typically 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in), dark green, long and slender
• Peas per pod: typically 8 to 10
• Pea type: shelling pea (pods are not eaten)
• Texture: tender peas with a classic, smooth bite
• Flavour: sweet, earthy, traditional English pea flavour

Days to maturity: typically 65 to 70 days (weather dependent).

Growing Instructions

Green Arrow is a cool-season workhorse: sow early, support it, and pick often for the sweetest peas.

Direct Sowing

• Sow as soon as the soil can be worked in spring
• Plant seed 2.5 cm (1 in) deep
• Germination: typically 7 to 14 days

Optional boost:

• Soak seed 8 to 12 hours before sowing for quicker, more even sprouting (don’t over-soak)

Soil + Site

• Full sun is best (light shade tolerated)
• Loose, well-drained soil with compost worked in
• Avoid heavy nitrogen (too much leaf, fewer pods)
• Peas appreciate phosphorus and potassium for flowering and pod set

Spacing

• Sow seeds about 5 cm (2 in) apart
• Thin to 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 in) apart
• Row spacing: 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in)

Support

Even at 2 to 3 ft, Green Arrow benefits from support.

• Use pea fencing, netting, short trellis, or brushy sticks
• Install at planting time
• Support improves airflow and keeps pods clean

Watering

• Aim for 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) of water per week
• Keep moisture even during flowering and pod fill
• Water at the base; mulch helps keep soil cool and steady

Weed Control

• Keep beds weed-free early (peas dislike competition)
• Shallow cultivation only to protect roots

Pest Notes

• Watch for aphids on tender tips
• Good airflow + steady growth usually prevents major issues

Harvesting (For the Sweetest, Truest Pea)

Green Arrow is a shelling pea: you harvest the pods, then shell the peas.

• Pick pods when they are dark green, well-filled, and plump
• Harvest often to keep plants producing
• Shell peas close to cooking for best sweetness

Freshness tip:

• Pea sugars convert to starch after picking. The sooner you eat or cook them, the sweeter they taste.

Preserving + Storage

• Fresh (unshelled): refrigerate for a few days
• Freezing: shell peas, blanch 2 minutes, ice-bath, drain, and freeze

Drying option (for pantry use):

• Leave selected pods to fully mature and dry on the vine until brown and papery
• Finish drying indoors if needed, then shell and store airtight

Culinary Notes: Classic English Pea Comfort

Green Arrow is the pea for simple, traditional cooking where flavour matters more than fuss.

• Butter + salt: the purest way to taste it
• Minted peas: a classic pairing
• Soups: fresh pea soup when in season; dried peas for winter pots
• Pasta and risotto: stirred in at the end for sweetness
• Pot pies and stews: a dependable, heritage-style pea

Cook gently, brief heat keeps the peas sweet and tender.

Canadian Climate Notes

Green Arrow performs beautifully across Canada as a cool-season crop.

• Sow early for best yields before summer heat
• Short vines suit smaller gardens and windy sites
• In many regions, a late-summer sowing can produce a fall crop

Growing zones: 2 to 10 (annual; cool-season crop).

Seed Saving

Peas are mostly self-pollinating, so seed saving is straightforward.

Isolation & Cross-Pollination

• For best purity, separate pea varieties by distance (even 10 to 20 ft helps)
• If growing multiple varieties, save seed from only one variety to keep it simple

How to Save Seed

1. Choose your healthiest plants
2. Leave pods to dry on the vine until brown and papery fully
3. Harvest and finish drying indoors if the weather turns wet
4. Shell peas only when fully dry and hard

Seed viability: typically 3 to 4 years.

Green Arrow is the perfected tradition of a reliable, heritage shelling pea that honours centuries of cultivation. Every dark green pod contains sweet, classic peas.