Peas/gardening/Jane Marie/graciousliving/greenlightWRITE/Nancy Kamp

Pondering Peas

When peas are young and tender, they are usually sweeter and can be eaten raw.

BASICS

When to plant:

According to an ancient Celtic legend, you may plant peas when you can sit on the ground naked and not freeze your private parts.

Peas are considered a cool weather plant. They don't like too much heat or cold, so plant them in the spring when all danger of frost is over. If you wait too long to plant, the heat of summer will wilt their leaves.

Choosing varieties:

There are low growers, climbers, and disease resistant varieties. Peas are grown for either seeds, pods or both. Read the seed package directions for individual information.

How to grow:

Peas prefer well drained, good quality soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 and full sun.

Sow seeds about one inch deep and two inches apart in the row. Plant low growers in rows one and a half to two feet apart.

Plant climbing peas about three feet apart, using trellises or tomato cages. Climbers need three feet between rows. If space is limited, you can plant climbers on either side of a trellis about six inches away from the support, so they can climb up on both sides.

The seeds will germinate in 5 to 8 days. When the pods begin to break ground, add fertilizer meant for vegetables. Read the label.

Water as needed to keep the soil evenly moist, but don't let your peas dry out. They can be watered from overhead in the morning so the leaves will dry off by night. If leaves are left wet, fungus and disease may occur.

Hand pulling weeds or shallow cultivation is best to keep from choking or crowding the plants, especially when they are beginning to grow. Two inches of organic mulch will reduce weeds and reduce water consumption of the plants.

Harvesting your crop:

Depending on the variety, your peas will be ready for harvesting after 55 to 80 days.

Once they begin to be ready, pick some every day as they're ready. If you've staggered the planting over a few weeks, it will follow that you will be picking your peas over several weeks.

Cook your peas immediately. Quickly freeze, can or dry any you don't cook, preferably within three or four hours, so they will retain their sweet taste.

If you plant different varieties, you can discover your favorite as well as have enough to share with family and friends.

Larry's tips:

I have a wonderful friend, Larry, who is a horticulturist. Having a particular fondness for gardening, I am forever picking this poor fellow’s brain. This is what he told me about peas:

There are several varieties of edible peas. The Crowder Pea or Field Pea is so called because genetically the peas crowd themselves within the shell. Consequently, the peas look blocky.

These peas are grown in the heat of the summer and were an old time staple because they could be dried or stored out of the shell or canned. They’re high in protein and took the place of meat.

Crowder Peas are six to ten inches long and may have as many as a dozen or more peas inside the shell.

Boil them with a ham hock until they’re tender.

Because they are so tender without cooking, both the shell and the pea of the Snow Pea are edible raw, or they can be boiled. They are grown in the cooler months as are the English Peas or as my family calls them, Bullet Peas. These must be shelled and boiled, but with a little sugar, as my mother used to add, they are delicious.

Try some liver and peas or salmon loaf and peas, today, for thy health’s sake.

Pea Salad Recipe

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