Sweet Red Pigeon Pea (Large peas, excellent vegetable type)

This pigeon pea is an exceptional vegetable type. The peas are extra large and distinctively sweet. In fact, they are so sweet that they can even be enjoyed raw. We identified this variety after growing around 10 strains over 2023 and evaluating all their traits. Tasting raw peas in the field was an easy way to identify those with the best tasting peas. Our pigeon pea trial included an Indian vegetable type described in some literature as the sweetest peas in existence (ICP 7035). To our surprise, this red variety is even tastier than than that variety. The other pigeon peas in our trial were smaller, more astringent and generally less desirable to eat as fresh peas. Lots of people on our tours enjoyed tasting different varieties and all tasters agreed on the improved flavor of this variety. On top of pea quality, this variety has other good horticultural traits. All of our plants grew sturdy and showed high productivity. The first major harvest was available in the first week of December which is earlier than some types and later than others. Most of the pods of this variety develop at the same pace so they can be harvested as one large cluster for cooking rather than picked individually. This variety does not dry down well if there is rain, with high incidence of mold and germination in the pod. The succulence and sweetness of the peas may be the reason they are more prone to molding.

The easiest way to enjoy pigeon peas as a vegetable is to boil them whole in the pods. After boiling, the peas can be eaten like edamame or shelled out to add to dishes. The peas come out of the pods very easily after boiling, which is much easier and faster than shelling them out raw. This discovery was a revelation to us, making it much easier to incorporate pigeon pea in the kitchen.

Important Note – Our 2023 seed stock was grown in fairly close proximity to other pigeon pea varieties. Literature shows that pigeon pea can have higher crossing rates than other legumes, with estimates ranging from 10-40 percent. Some seeds in these seed packs could be hybrids with other peas and those hybrids may not express all of the same traits described above. It is also possible under our conditions crossing rates are low or even zero but we do not know at this moment. In future years we will isolate our seed crop from other varieties so we can offer pure seed.

This variety was originally sourced from the ECHO seed bank. We encourage people to take tours of ECHO and support their fantastic working fighting global hunger.