Just like Bulbs, the Pods vegetable category consists of one plant family:
Legume Family: beans (snap, shell and dried), chickpeas, soybeans, fava beans, peas, snow peas, sugar snaps
Similarities: When you sow the seeds for Pod veggies outdoors, you have to protect these seeds from the birds because they love them too! Don’t forget that the pollinators love the flowers.
Differences: Some of these veggies are cool season lovers while some are warm season lovers. Some varieties grow in a pole or bush format. Some Pod varieties have different color pods and flowers. While some pods are edible, some aren’t like fava beans, chickpeas, soybeans and dried beans and peas.
Raised Bed Ideas: I like to grow pole beans up a tall trellis tunnel in between pole tomatoes, winter squash and cucumbers because they have the same growing season. I will grow some taller vining or pole varieties of peas, snow peas and sugar snaps at the end of the trellis tunnel so I don’t interfere with the other vining plants when these cool season plants are don’t producing and need to be pulled. I have a smaller trellis that I use for some smaller varieties. As for the bush varieties, I will grow them wherever there is space.
