Retrija Soup Pea

Pisum sativum

Seeds per pack ~ 40 approx

Germination: 87% Packed for 2026

Origins, History, and Cultural Heritage

‘Retrija’ is a distinctive Latvian field or soup pea belonging to Pisum sativum, specifically associated with the maculatum group of field peas. Unlike the familiar green garden pea, Retrija is primarily valued as a mature dry pea. It is closely associated with Latvia’s long tradition of cultivating large gray peas, known as Latvijas lielie pelēkie zirņi (“Latvian large grey peas”). Retrija was developed and is maintained by Latvia’s Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics at the Priekuļi Research Centre and was registered in Latvia’s Plant Variety Catalogue in 2004. We sourced our Retrija Soup Pea seeds from Adaptive Seeds.

The deeper history of gray peas in Latvia predates the modern Retrija cultivar. Field peas have long been an important stored food in northern and eastern Europe because their mature seeds can be dried and kept through the winter. Retrija represents the continuation and formal improvement of this Latvian agricultural tradition rather than an ancient cultivar unchanged through the centuries. This distinction is useful when describing it as an heirloom or heritage pea: the Latvian gray-pea food tradition is old, while Retrija itself is a comparatively modern named cultivar.

Migration and Preservation

Retrija has moved beyond Latvia through seed-conservation and seed-exchange networks. Adaptive Seeds reports receiving the variety from Dr. Livija Zarina of the State Priekuli Plant Breeding Institute during the Seed Ambassadors Project's 2006 visit to Latvia, helping introduce the pea to gardeners and seed growers in North America. European conservation and research projects have also documented Retrija as a Latvian-origin variety, illustrating how regional crop varieties can travel internationally while maintaining a strong cultural connection to their place of origin.

Importantly, dried peas of the Retrija cultivar produced according to geographic and production requirements in Latvia are associated with the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Latvijas lielie pelēkie zirņi. The PDO documentation specifically identifies Retrija as the cultivar used for this protected Latvian food.

Appearance and Characteristics

Retrija is striking both in the garden and after harvest. Plants are vigorous, climbing vines, generally about 4–5 feet tall (130–160 cm), although growing conditions and support can influence height. The vines produce attractive pink to pink-violet flowers, making the crop considerably more ornamental than many ordinary field peas.

The mature peas are particularly beautiful. Seeds are large and coarse, with brown, reddish-brown, and grayish marbling or speckling and a dark hilum. European PDO specifications describe a thousand-seed weight of approximately 360–400 grams. The marbled seed coat contributes to the characteristic gray appearance that gives Latvian gray peas their name. When cooked whole, the seed coat helps the pea retain its shape rather than completely disintegrating, while the interior develops a soft, floury texture.

Culinary Uses

Retrija is especially well suited to soups, stews, porridges, bean-style dishes, and other recipes calling for dried peas. The peas can also be shelled and eaten at an earlier stage, but their principal culinary distinction emerges when they are allowed to mature and dry.

In Latvia, gray peas have an especially strong association with winter meals and Christmas-season cooking. Traditional preparations pair cooked gray peas with onions and pork or bacon, producing a hearty dish suited to the Baltic winter. Adaptive Seeds similarly notes their traditional use as whole dried peas in soups and pork-and-onion dishes. For vegetarian cooking, Retrija can readily be paired with caramelized onions, mushrooms, root vegetables, garlic and herbs or incorporated into thick vegetable soups. Its substantial texture also makes it an interesting alternative to lentils, chickpeas or conventional split peas.

Growing Tips

Retrija is a cool-season pea and performs best when planted early enough to grow and flower before sustained summer heat. Direct sow outdoors as soon as the soil is workable. Choose a location receiving full sun and provide reasonably fertile, well-drained soil. Excessive nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided because peas, as legumes, form associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and overly rich soil can encourage excessive vegetative growth.

These are tall, vigorous plants and trellising is strongly recommended. Adaptive Seeds suggests sturdy posts and twine, while Latvian agricultural guidance notes that the variety can lodge when grown by itself and has traditionally also been cultivated in mixtures with oats, barley or spring wheat, whose stems provide additional support.

Sowing Depth and Spacing

Direct sow seeds approximately 1 inch deep. Adaptive Seeds recommends rows about 12 inches apart, with seedlings ultimately spaced approximately 3 inches apart. A sturdy trellis 5–6 feet high is advisable. In regions with cold winters and hot summers, sowing in late winter through early spring generally gives the plants the long, cool growing period needed to mature a dry-seed crop.

Days to Maturity

Allow approximately 110 days to full dry-seed maturity under favorable growing conditions. Because Retrija is principally a soup and storage pea, its maturity period is longer than that of many garden peas harvested for tender green pods. Latvian agricultural sources classify it as a medium-late variety.

Harvesting Guidance

For fresh shelling peas, harvest pods once the seeds have filled out but before they become hard. For the traditional soup-pea harvest, however, leave the pods on the vines until they turn brown, papery and thoroughly dry. Harvesting during dry weather reduces the possibility of mold during storage.

Once fully dry, shell or thresh the peas and remove pod fragments and other debris by hand or winnowing. Make sure that peas intended for storage or seed saving are thoroughly dry before putting them into airtight containers. Properly dried Retrija peas become an excellent shelf-stable winter food as well as seed for the following year's crop.

Seed Saving

Retrija is particularly rewarding for seed savers because its large, beautifully mottled seeds are easy to handle. Peas are predominantly self-pollinating, so maintaining varietal purity is considerably easier than with strongly cross-pollinating crops. Some insect-mediated crossing can nevertheless occur. Select vigorous, healthy plants that display the characteristic pink-violet flowers, climbing growth habit and large marbled seeds. Allow their pods to mature completely on the plant before threshing and storing the seed in a cool, dark and dry location.

Retrija is especially valuable as a culturally significant seed crop: its dramatic flowers and mottled seeds, suitability for seed saving, storability as a dry pulse, and connection to Latvia's gray-pea tradition make it an excellent example of how a crop can preserve both agricultural biodiversity and food heritage.