Common names: pea, sweet pea, garden
pea, sugar pea, English pea
Botanical name: Pisum sativum
Origin: Europe, Near East
Varieties Shelling
types: Little
Marvel (62 days); Frosty (64 days); Wando (75 days); Dwarf Grey Sugar (65 days).
Edible-pod types: Giant Melting (65 days); Melting Sugar (69 days);
Oregon Sugar Pod (75 days); Sugar Snap (65 days).
Description
Peas are hardy,
weak-stemmed, climbing annuals that have leaf like stipules, leaves with one to
three pairs of leaflets, and tendrils that they use for climbing. The flowers
are white, streaked, or colored. The fruit is a pod containing four to 10
seeds, either smooth or wrinkled depending on the variety. Custom has it that you
can make a wish if you find a pea pod with nine or more peas in it. Edible-pod
peas are a fairly recent development. Grow them the same way as sweet peas, but
harvest the immature pod before the peas have developed to full size.
Peas have
traditionally been a difficult crop for the home gardener to grow, with yields
so low that it was hardly worth planting them. The introduction of the new
easy-to-grow varieties of edible-pod peas has made growing peas a manageable undertaking
for the home gardener, and no garden should be without them. All you need to grow
peas is cool weather and a six-foot support trellis.
Where and when to grow
Peas are a cool-season
crop that must mature before the weather gets hot. Ideal growing weather for
peas is moist and between 60° and 65°F, Plant them as soon as the soil can be
worked in spring about six weeks before the average date of last frost.
How to plant
Peas tolerate partial
shade and need good drainage in soil that is high in organic material. They produce
earlier in sandy soil, but yield a heavier, later crop if grown in clay soil.
Although soaking seeds can speed germination, a lot of seed can be ruined by over
soaking, and peas are harder to plant when they're wet, because the seeds tend
to break. Before planting, work a complete well-balanced fertilizer into the
soil at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square
feet. Plant the peas two inches deep, one to two inches apart, in rows 18 to 24
inches apart.
Fertilizing and
watering
Fertilize before
planting and again at midseason, at the same rate as the rest of the garden. Detailed
information on fertilizing is given in "Spadework: The Essential
Soil" in P a r t i. Peas need ample moisture; don't let the soil dry out.
When the vines are flowering, avoid getting water on the plants; it may damage
the flowers and reduce the crop.
Special handling
Provide trellises to
support the pea vines. Cultivate very gently to avoid harming the fragile
roots.
Pests
Aphids, rabbits,
birds, and people are attracted to pea vines. Control aphids by pinching out infested
foliage or by hosing them off the vines. Fence out the rabbits, and discourage
birds with a scarecrow. Stern words may do the trick with human trespassers.
Despite this competition, peas are an excellent crop for any garden.
Diseases
Peas are susceptible
to rot, wilt, blight, mosaic, and mildew. New, highly disease-resistant varieties
are available; use them to cut down on disease problems in your garden. You
will also lessen the incidence of disease if you avoid handling the vines when they're
wet, and if you maintain the general health and cleanliness of the garden. If a
plant does become diseased, remove and destroy it before it can spread disease
to healthy plants.
When and how to
harvest
Time from planting to
harvest is from 55 to 80 days. A 10-foot row may give you about three pounds of
pods. Pick shelling peas when the pods are full and green, before the peas
start to harden. Over mature peas are nowhere near as tasty as young ones; as
peas increase in size, the sugar content goes down as the starch content goes
up. Sugar will also begin converting to
starch as soon as peas are picked. To slow this process, chill the peas in their
pods as they are picked and shell them immediately before cooking. Harvest
edible-pod peas before the peas mature. Pods
Should be plump, but
the individual peas should not be completely showing through the pod.
Storing and preserving
Storing fresh shelling
peas is seldom an issue for home gardeners; there are seldom any left to store
but they can be stored in the refrigerator, unshelled, up to one week. You can
sprout, freeze, can, or dry peas. Dried peas can be stored in a cool, dry place
for 10 to 12 months. Edible-pod peas are also so good raw that you may not even
get them as far as the kitchen. If you do have any to spare, you can store them
in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for seven to 10 days. Edible-pod peas also
freeze well and, unlike shelling peas. lose little of their flavor when frozen.
Detailed information on storing and preserving is given in Part 3.
Serving suggestions
Freshly shelled peas
are a luxury seldom enjoyed by most people. Cook them quickly in a little water
and serve them with butter and chopped mint. Or add a sprig of mint during
cooking. Fresh peas and boiled new potatoes are the perfect accompaniment for a
lamb roast. Toss cold, cooked peas into a salad, or add them to potato salad —
throw in diced cooked carrots as well, and you've got a Russian salad. Simmer peas
in butter with a handful of lettuce tossed in at the end of the cooking time or
try lining the pot with lettuce leaves and cooking the peas briefly over low heat.
Add a few sautéed mushrooms or onions for a sophisticated vegetable dish. Add
edible pod peas to a stir-fry dish — the rapid cooking preserves their crisp
texture and delicate flavor. Eat them raw, or use them alone, lightly steamed,
as a side dish.
Pea Black Eyed
Common names: pea, black-eyed pea,
cowpea, chowder pea, southern pea, black-eyed bean, China bean
Botanical name: Gigna sinensis
Origin: Asia
Varieties; California Black Eye
(75 days); Pink Eye Purple Hull (78 days); Mississippi Silver (80 days).
Description
Black-eyed peas are
tender annuals that can be either bushy or climbing plants, depending on the
variety. The seeds of the dwarf varieties are usually white with a dark spot
(black eye) where they're attached to the pod; sometimes the spots are brown or
purple. Black-eyed peas originated in Asia. Slave traders brought them to Jamaica,
where they became a staple of the West Indies' diet.
Where and when to grow
Unlike sweet peas,
black-eyed peas tolerate high temperatures but are very sensitive to cold — the
slightest frost will harm them. They grow very well in the South, but they
don't grow well from transplants, and some Northern areas may not have a long
enough growing season to accommodate them from seeds. If your area has a long
enough warm season, plant black-eyed peas from seed four weeks after the
average date of last frost.
How to plant
Black-eyed peas will
tolerate partial shade and will grow in very poor soil. In fact, like other legumes,
they're often grown to improve the soil. Well-drained, well-worked soil that's
high in organic matter increases their productivity. When you're preparing the
soil for planting, you have to work in a complete, well-balanced fertilizer at
the rate of one pound per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Sow
seeds half an inch deep and about two inches apart in rows two to three feet
apart; when the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them to three or
four inches apart.
Fertilizing and
watering
Fertilize before
planting and again at midseason, at the same rate as the rest of the garden. Detailed
information on fertilizing is given in "Spadework: The Essential
Soil" in P a r t i. Don't let the soil dry out, but try to keep water off
the flowers; it may cause them to fall off, and this will reduce the yield.
Pests
Beetles, aphids,
spider mites, and leafhoppers attack black-eyed peas. Control aphids and beetles
physically by hand-picking or hosing them off the plants, pinch out
aphid-infested vegetation, or using a chemical spray of Diazinon or Malathion. Hose
leafhoppers off the plants or spray with carbaryl. Spider mites are difficult
to control even with
The proper chemicals;
remove the affected plants before the spider mites spread, or spray the undersides
of the foliage with Diazinon.
Diseases
Black-eyed peas are
susceptible to anthracnose, rust, mildews,mosaic, and wilt. Planting disease-resistant
varieties when possible and maintaining the general cleanliness and health of your
garden will help cut down the incidence of disease. To avoid spreading disease,
don't work with the plants when they're wet. If a plant does become infected, remove
it before it can spread disease to healthy plants.
When and how to
harvest
Time from planting to
harvest is from 70 to 110 days. You can eat either the green pods or the dried
peas. Pick pods at whatever stage of maturity you desire — either young and
tender or fully matured to use dried.
Storing and preserving
Unshelled black-eyed
peas can be kept up to one week in the refrigerator. Young black-eyed peas can
be frozen, pod and all; the mature seeds can be dried, canned, or frozen. Dried
shelled black-eyed peas can be stored in a cool, dry place for 10 to 12 months.
Serving suggestions
Eat young black-eyed
peas in the pod like snap beans; dry the shelled peas for use in casseroles and
soups. Combine cooked black-eyed peas and rice, season with red pepper sauce,
and bake until hot; or simmer the peas with pork or bacon for a classic
Southern dish.
60 Seconds Habit ! That Reversed Type 2 Diabetes and Melted 56 lbs of Fat
60 Seconds Habit ! That Reversed Type 2 Diabetes and Melted 56 lbs of Fat
