P Allen: Peas, For Beauty and the Feast
Snow peas are a favorite of mine for salads, steaming and stir-frys.
photography by Jane Colclasure, Kelly Quinn and courtesy of Hortus Ltd.
Along the middle of February or so, knowing that winter may still blow through again, I can hardly resist the urge to start planting in my garden. My overwintered cabbages are looking great, and the hardier arugula and mustard still give me small harvests, but I want to get my hands in the dirt and plant something. This is where peas come in. They are one of the earliest vegetables you can plant in the spring, and before you know it, you’ll be eating fresh, succulent peas. Once you taste peas picked fresh from the vine, you’ll never want to buy canned or frozen again!
Peas were a favorite of Pres. Thomas Jefferson; it is said that he grew 15 different varieties of peas at Monticello, always keeping track of when the first harvest was served at the table. You see, according to family history, there was a neighborhood contest to see who could bring fresh peas to the table first. The story goes that a neighbor, George Divers almost always won, and on the occasion when Mr. Jefferson actually harvested the first peas of the season, he refused to invite the company to the table preferring to let his friend Mr. Divers think that he never failed.
I make sure in the fall that I have my beds for peas worked up, hilled up and ready to go at the first sign of spring. This allows it to stay drained over the winter and warm up quicker in early spring. If you did not do this, you can still prepare beds this spring, but make sure the soil is not too wet when you begin working it. Wet soil will not produce a good crop. Once you get it raised up, it should drain fairly quickly depending on the weather; you can finish it on the first warm spring day.
Now, pea plants are known as “nitrogen fixers,” which simply means that they can take nitrogen from the air trapped in pockets in your soil and convert it to nutrients they can use, so I don’t worry about adding nitrogen to the soil. Working in some bone meal, greensand or a balanced 5-10-10 organic fertilizer will keep plenty of phosphorous and potassium in the soil so you will have plenty of flowers and pods. Since the soil in my garden tends to be slightly acidic, I also add some wood ash from my fireplace to help sweeten the soil.
There are so many different types of peas, I have a hard time choosing what to grow each year. There are English peas to shell; snap peas and snow peas to eat — pod and all; those that are dwarfs, or those that have fairly tall vines. I would recommend trying some of them all. Their flavors can be so unique. Some varieties of snap peas are so sweet, I have a hard time getting any from the garden to the kitchen, and sautéing or stir-frying up some snow peas with a little garlic and onion is a tasty side dish. Varieties for early-, mid- and late-producing will keep your harvest coming in longer, and choosing one for disease resistance protects them in the cooler, moist growing conditions. I recommend that you don’t plant peas where you have grown them before for three to five years, and you shouldn’t have any disease problems.
I plant my peas so they mature or grow pods when the weather is cool. This means planting them early — by St. Valentine’s Day, if possible! This keeps the vines growing and producing the tastiest peas. I have found the vines can survive temperatures down into the 20s and still keep on producing, whereas when the weather gets warmer the vines will begin to produce flowers too early, and you will not get a good crop. I usually just plant my peas about two inches down in the ground and let nature take its course, but you can soak your peas in water for about an hour or so or even overnight, until they swell, to get a head start on germination. They will germinate in pretty cool soil without much help as long as the ground is moist, not soggy or waterlogged.
If you have not grown peas before in the place you have chosen or it has been a long time, I would be sure to purchase inoculant when you purchase your seed. This will help ensure that your soil has a good amount of the bacteria required to grow and produce well. Different types of beans, peas and other legumes require different types of bacteria, so I make sure that the type of inoculant I purchase is for the type of pea I am growing; for instance, N-Dur Organic Inoculant for Beans, Peas, and Peanuts. These often come in premixed combinations to cover most of your gardening needs. Be sure to check the expiration date on the package. Sowing seed every two to three weeks will keep new plants coming and also extend your harvest. Depending on the type you grow, you should harvest fresh peas in about 21 days. Peas are not bothered by many pests, but I watch closely for aphids and shoot them off with a spray of water from the hose.
Learning when to harvest the various types of peas involves a little trial and error. For English peas, you want plump, full pods but do not let them sit on the vine too long or they will become starchy rather than sweet. Snow peas are harvested when the pods are still flat, and the peas are about the size of small BBs. Snap peas are more difficult as their pods sometimes expand regardless of the size of the peas, so you will have to pick a few and try them out. Experience is the best teacher. You want them very crisp and tender.
If you are a fan of eating pea shoots like I am, you can wait until your peas are about five inches tall and cut them back to one inch. I like them in salads or sautéed in a little olive oil and some garlic or onion. After cutting, your vines will branch out and continue to grow and you can make several harvests. If you need to store them for a couple of days, simply wrap them in a paper towel and store in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator drawer. Pea tendrils, the threadlike fingers from the vine that coil around a support, are also delicious to include in salads or as a garnish to any entrée or side dish. I just make sure to get them from the top so they are very tender and tasty.
The Beautiful Side of Peas
Freshness, color and fragrance are why I grow flowering sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus). Cut fresh, their beautiful colors will last much longer in arrangements, and their soft scent will fill an entire room. Here in my zone 7 gardens the only disadvantage is that, like edible peas (Pisum sativum), they need to grow in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall.
Normally, in the more northerly zones, you would plant your Sweet Peas in a spot that is in full sun, but in my garden I try to provide them with a little afternoon shade to keep the blossoms coming longer. And I plant them as early as possible, at the same time I plant my edible peas. They can take a little frost early on, and I want them to get as established as possible before the heat of summer is upon us. Adding plenty of compost or a complete, balanced organic fertilizer at planting time and keeping them moist will produce the best flowers.
I like to plant the ‘Elegance’ series here at the Garden Home Retreat, because they are one of the earliest blooming varieties, but I also include others that are known for their bolder fragrance. They are easy to grow in containers using twig trellises or bamboo stakes, but you don’t have to stake them; they will grow into a beautiful flowering mound on their own.
