ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot

Peas have long been a popular garden vegetable, perhaps because they are one of the earliest vegetables harvested in spring. The Victorians grew over 120 different varieties of garden peas, providing a continuous supply of fresh shelled peas throughout the summer months. The Victorians may have delighted in afternoons spent shelling peas, but these days we’re all on the run, so most gardeners grow snow peas or snap peas – no shelling required!
Peas fall into three categories: shelling, snow and snap. Snow peas are edible pod peas harvested when the pods are full-sized and the peas have just begun to swell. With snap peas, also known as Mangetout, the sweet, tender pods and fully-formed peas are eaten.
Pea varieties vary from two-foot dwarf vines that require no staking, to eight-foot tall climbing vines, which require good support for ease of growth and harvest.
Tip: Use pea sticks for support; for example, long, straight, twiggy branches of pruned apple trees. “Plant” two rows of pea sticks about two feet apart; push them deep into the ground with their tops crossed and tied for extra support.
For the highest yields, grow peas in rows. Moist, well-drained fertile soil in a sunny location, with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5, makes peas happy. Avoid heavy applications of manure or you’ll get lush foliage but few peas. The fastest way to plant peas is to hoe a shallow furrow and drop pea seeds into it, one inch deep and one inch apart. Then just rake over to cover, and water in.
Peas are legumes. Leguminous plants allow bacteria to live on their roots, and, in return, the bacteria convert nitrogen from the air into usable nitrogen for the peas. When an excess of nitrogen is produced, it goes into the soil where it becomes available to the plants.
If sowing peas where no legumes have grown before, you can significantly increase yields by coating the seeds with fresh inoculant when seeding. This provides the bacteria for this mutually beneficial relationship that enhances plant growth. It’s as easy as shaking the pea seeds with the black powdery inoculant in a container before sowing.
As long as the soil is moist there’s no need to soak pea seeds. In fact, if you grow peas in wet soil, it’s best not to soak them at all, as they rot so easily. Germination is fast: peas sprout in six to 14 days, depending on soil temperature. They will germinate at between five and 23°C (40-75°F), but they germinate best at between 10 and 20°C (50-70°F). You can expect yields approximately 100 days from sowing, depending on the variety you are growing.
On the West Coast, we get pea enation disease, spread by green aphids, which causes pea vines to yellow and die. Plant enation-resistant varieties if you are planting peas later in the spring when aphids are at work. Peas perform best in cool growing conditions; the yields drop for sowings later in the year, so it’s best to start them as early as possible. Some gardeners plant peas in July and August for a fall crop, but I find the yields never as good as with the spring planting.
Once peas start producing, harvest them every day to keep them producing. Pinching the tips off will cause the vines to bush out, increasing yields as well as giving you delicious, juicy pea shoots for stirfries and salads.
Like corn, peas are sweetest when eaten fresh, as once harvested their sugars turn to starch. If you miss the boat when harvesting, leave the peas on the vines to mature until the pods are brown and dried. Then save the seeds for next year’s crop, or keep some as dried peas for hearty winter soups.
Tip: If short of space, try growing a mixed pea patch. Sowing several varieties of peas together that mature at different times will extend your season of harvest.

From A Year on the Garden Path: A 52-Week Organic Gardening Guide by Carolyn Herriot. Second edition $24.95. Available from your favourite bookstore or order online at www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath.