Soup Pea, Retrija (Organic)

Pisum sativum. Latvian Grey Soup. 110 days.

Large seeded, speckled brown Latvian soup pea. For those of us accustomed to green peas this unique grey variety is delightful. We were only aware of green soup peas until we traveled to Latvia in 2006 and discovered these. Then we learned that there are many varieties of speckled peas from all over the world. Retrija has beautiful, pink/red flowers on vigorous plants that grow 4-5′ tall. Peas are good for shelling and eating fresh, or for threshing once pods are dry. In Latvia, these peas are traditionally picked dry and cooked whole in soup, often with diced onion in pork stew for the Christmas season. Latvian Grey Peas, which Retrija is a quintessential example, are listed on both the Slow Food Ark of Taste, and the European Protected Designations of Origin (PDO). We were given this pea during our original Seed Ambassadors Project trip by Dr. Livija Zarina of the State Priekuli Plant Breeding Institute in Priekuli, Latvia. The Institute has one of the longest running scientific experiments on farming with organic practices in Europe.

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SKU: PEA-RETRIJ003 Category: Tags: ,
Geographical Origin

Direct sow 1” deep February through April in rows that are 12” apart. Thin seedlings to 3” spacing. Protecting early sowings from frost may help with early yields. Requires trellising; try T-posts and bailing twine.

Seed Saving

Collect seed from pods that are fully dry. Shell by hand or by dancing, winnow to clean. Test for dryness with a hammer – dry peas shatter. When seeds are very dry, freeze to kill weevils. Some cross-pollination may occur, but peas predominantly self-pollinate so no isolation is needed.

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  1. One person found this helpful
    Bronwen Heinrich

    Best Soup Pea Ever!

    Bronwen Heinrich (verified owner)

    Where did you grow this variety? Canada

    After having grown many different types of soup peas over the years, Adaptive Seeds’ Retrija soup pea is a winner! It has a wonderful flavour, holds incredibly well, and as a bonus has beautiful dry seed! This is definitely one I will be growing over and over…

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  2. Patricia Flores

    Fantastic soup!

    Patricia Flores (verified owner)

    Where did you grow this variety? Washington

    3 months after harvesting I decided to try this pea spoup. I am not a fan of pea soup, but the seeds grew so well I decided to give it a go. Garlic, onion, cubed pork, dried peas, salt, pepper, veggie broth. Oh my lord, this was the most amazing pea soup. We loved it. I did have to purchase more seed, as we ate the saved seeds in the second batch, These vines are vigorous and require a good staking system. The flower on the pea was lovely and the bees were happy with it.

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