We're in serious countdown mode for
spring...only 15 days, 5 hours, as of my most recent check. Hooray!
But, my friends, you know what that means: it's time to get busy.
I know some of you are still buried in
snow. I'm sorry. Here, in our zone 7b gardens, we're cleaning up
beds, adding fresh compost, and—of course—planting peas.
Peas are one of the easiest, earliest,
and most satisfying spring crops to grow. With two children who fuss
about every vegetable served, I'm in heaven when I find something
they'll eat without too much drama.
And they eat peas.
Peas get a bad rap. Too many
generations grew up with the smelly, unfortunate canned peas that
they were forced to choke down at the dinner table.
Fresh-from-the-garden peas, however,
share no resemblance to their canned cousins. These sweet, crunchy,
garden treats often don't make it to our dinner table. Instead,
they're eaten like candy, munched on while gardening, a handful
plucked while playing with pups.
This year, however, I've planted enough
peas to ensure they will accompany meals—and hopefully enough to
harvest and store as well. While I planted peas in the main kitchen
garden, more pea seeds await their new home in the potager. (Can
someone please figure out how to add a few more hours to the day? I
seriously need the extra time or a clone in order to get everything
done. Thank you.)
Of course, I couldn't decide on just
one variety. Instead, I selected six pea varieties for the gardens
this spring. Golden Sweet, Blauwschokkers (Blue Podded Shelling),
Amish Snap, Snowbird, English Sugar Snap, and Tom Thumb are all
tucked into the cool soil.
But how do you decide which varieties
to select? And how can you ensure good growth and harvest?
No worries. Peas are simple. I promise:
You Can Grow That!
Selecting Seed
First, decide which type of pea you and
your family enjoy the most. Do you love stir fry? You'll want to
grow snow peas in your garden. Do you want to harvest and save peas
for winter dishes? You'll want to add shelling peas. If you enjoy
eating sweet, crunchy side dishes, sugar snap peas provide a
delicious, nutritious addition to dinner.
Or, like me, you can grow a bit of each
variety to cover all of your bases.
When selecting seed, you're looking for
peas that have edible- or non-edible pods. Non-edible pods are the
traditional shelling peas, which are quite labor-intensive. You won't
win over the kids' taste buds if you enlist them to shell peas for
hours.
Edible-podded peas include snap and
snow peas. Snap peas are eaten similarly to snap beans—they are,
after all, related. Simply remove the ends and pull off the string,
et voilá! A tasty treat, ready for eating. You can also serve them
cooked, but remember—less is more. There's nothing appetizing about
mushy peas.
Snow pea pods are also eaten. However,
they're traditionally picked before the pea inside the pod swells.
These are the yummy flat peas most often associated with stir fry.
Of course, it would be too simple to
have only two types of peas, right?
Then, we have dual-purpose peas. My
purple podded and Golden Sweet varieties can be harvested small and
eaten like snow peas, or I can allow them to ripen on the vine to
produce shelling peas. (By default, I tend to get quite a few
shelling peas when life gets too busy for daily harvesting.)
Grow
Peas benefit from an overnight soaking
in water to speed germination. I've planted both straight and
pre-sprouted seeds, and I've always enjoyed an earlier harvest from
the pre-sprouted vines.
Sow seeds early, as soon as you can
work the soil in the spring. (I also plant a second crop in the fall,
and in our zone with a bit of frost covering—we harvested peas
through December.) Space seeds 2-3” apart and plant at approximately ½-inch
depth.
Peas thrive in well-drained, moist soil
with good sun, approximately 6-8 hours. Honestly, though—our peas
planted in the potager grow well with less than the recommended
amount of sun. When planning crop rotation, peas often do well
following potatoes, and brassica crops do well following peas, as
they absorb the nitrogen that peas nodules provide if the roots
remain in the ground.
Pea varieties range from two to 10 feet
in height, with the tall varieties requiring trellises. I plant my
peas in the same beds that held last season's tomatoes, taking
advantage of the staking/trellising system that I used for the
tomatoes. Rows of peas are planted on each side of the trellis. In
our potager, peas trellis along the garden fence, which is not only
practical—it's also pretty. Pea blossoms are a gorgeous addition to
the edible garden.
Have limited space or no yard? Peas are
an ideal crop for you. Because they grow vertically, you'll have room
for other cool weather crops, like lettuce or Swiss chard. A large
container and a tomato cage provide an easy method for balcony
gardeners to enjoy peas, and the dwarf 'Tom Thumb' variety can easily
reside in a window box.
There's really no excuse not to eat
your peas.
Harvest
Keep pea vines well-harvested. The more
you pick, the more peas the vine will produce. If you plan to eat the
pods of 'Golden Sweet' or similar varieties, harvest the pods young.
If you prefer shelling peas, make certain the pod is mature—you can
see the swell of the peas within the pod.
Be careful when harvesting peas,
though. Gently remove the pods with two hands. Trust me. I've been
known to break vines in my haste to harvest peas.
Eat
Unlike the nasty peas we faced as
children, homegrown peas are an easy sell. Sweet and tender, they
don't need much embellishment. Still, here's a delicious recipe for
you to try with your lovely crop of homegrown peas:
(From Chez Panisse Vegetables by
Alice Waters)
Snap Pea, Asparagus, and Turnip
Ragout
Ingredients:
2 cups snap peas
3 spring onions
20 asparagus spears
10 baby turnips
2 carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 cup vegetable stock or water
½ lemon
Remove the strings from the snap peas.
Trim and peel the vegetables. Slice the vegetables so that they are
all about the same size—about ¼ inch thick. The asparagus, snap
peas, and carrots can be sliced on the diagonal. Parboil the carrots
for 1 minute in salted water.
Heat a large sauté pan and add the
olive oil and ½ tablespoon of the butter. When the oil is hot, add
the vegetables, tossing often—first the turnips, then snap peas,
onions, and asparagus, then the carrots. Cook each vegetable briefly
before adding the next. Add salt and pepper. Taste for doneness—the
vegetables should be tender. Add the garlic. Continue tossing until,
as Ms. Waters writes, “...when the scent of garlic hits your nose,
remove the vegetables from the pan.” (Yum!)
Deglaze the pan with the vegetable
stock or water and add the remaining butter and a squeeze of lemon
juice. Let the sauce reduce by one third and pour it over the
vegetables. Serves 4.
Is it spring yet? I'm so ready for
delicious peas and asparagus.
Now, out you go, into the garden with
pea seeds in hand! Just think—in a few months, you will thank me
for forcing you out into the cold to plant your peas.
And we'll both thank Alice Waters as we
feast on her delicious recipe.
Happy gardening!
XOXO ~
Julie
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