Growing Peas

Peas   - Pisum sativum

Peas are definitely one of our essential crops. They are easy to grow, easy to cook – or eat raw, healthy, easy to freeze or dry.

Sowing and Growing –

Peas prefer a well cultivated plot in a sunny and unexposed site on well drained and fertile soil. Of course, for many of us, this is not an option but, my heavy clay soil on a fairly exposed site can also produce excellent crops of peas.

Although I know of growers who plant their peas and beans on the same site every year as the correct conditions have been set up for them, I do think it is advisable to rotate these crops. I like to follow my potato crops with beans and peas as the ground has already been well manured in the previous season for potatoes.

I used to follow instructions in vegetable growing books for planting peas [dig a trench 2in deep or 5cm. and space the peas 3in apart or 8cm along the trench] or something similar. I always wondered why I always had such a miserable spindly crop. I spoke to an elderly neighbour on my allotment who had been growing for years and had amazing lush and productive pea crops. He laughed and then demonstrated to me how to sow peas – dig a trench 2-3 in [5 – 7cm deep] sow a whole packet of seeds or more – my trenches are 4 -5 metres long – sow 1 – 2 packets of seed along this trench by sprinkling fairly extravagantly along the trench. I usually sow about 3 trenches with 4 – 5 packets of seed. The plants are then fairly self supporting although I do stake them with 1 metre canes fairly liberally – on a diagonal in each direction, providing a criss-cross network of support. I sow the rows fairly close together 2 - 2½ft [60 – 80cm]. Although this spacing does not allow me to weed easily when the plants are maturing, the dense pea cover also blocks out most weeds. Of course you can use branches of shrubs or trees as stakes or you can spend a lot of money in setting up staked and wired supports. Unless you are a perfectionist gardener this is not really necessary – for me the crop is the end product, not the tidiness of my plot – though, of course, this is also important.

Slugs, snails and pigeons are a particular pest on my allotment when the peas are emerging so I use slug pellets and put nets over my plantings.

Mice and perhaps rats or birds can also dig to access the chitting seeds. I’m not sure how to prevent this though netting can, obviously help. Birds have a way, in spite of our best efforts, of finding their way under our netting which can make them ‘sitting ducks’ for hungry predators like foxes. Do make sure the trapped birds have an easy escape route in case of panic – that said, I haven’t always been successful in this endeavour.

Although peas and beans have, for a long time, been thought of as a good source of nitrogen, the nodules on their roots fixing nitrogen in the soil, recent research has shown that this is not the case. It is now believed that this is not the case – that the ‘fixed’ nitrogen is only available to the plant that produces it.

Types and Varieties –

Peas can be classified as:

- Earlies which take 11 to 12 weeks to harvesting time and can be sown as early as late February to early March under cover or cloches [depending on the weather and your situation]. They can then be harvested as early as May – June. Or they can be sown outdoors from late March to mid April for harvesting June/July.

Try - Early Onward, Kelvedon Wonder, Little Marvel, Twinkle, Meteor

- 2^nd Earlies which can take between 12 – 13 weeks to harvesting. Sow outdoors when the soil has warmed up a bit, from mid Spring. Try - Early Onward, Kelvedon Wonder, Little Marvel, Jaguar, Avola, Hurst Green Shaft [called ‘ the grower’s favourite’ with some justification].

- Maincrop will take 13 to 14 weeks to harvesting time. Sow from mid April to mid May. These are likely to be the peas which will provide a heavy crop for freezing for winter use. Although there are other varieties, my favourite, by far, is Hurst Green Shaft – they are heavy cropping, sweet, good to eat raw, excellent for cooking and for freezing. Try also, Oasis, Bingo [good for pots in the back garden or patio, Rhondo, Starlight.

- Late Maincrop – It is still possible to sow peas in July for autumn cropping into September, although the crops are not likely to be so heavy and there is more risk of maggots in the pods and peas and mildew from later sowings. Although it is a risky crop, if you have the space and the weather is kind, it is a treat to eat fresh peas late in the season.

Try – Starlight, Rhondo, Kelvedon Wonder, Ambassador, Douce Provence [which can be sown as an overwintering variety or from early Spring under cover].

Peas can also be classified as:

-Shelling peas – are grown to maturity and taken out of the pods to eat – the pods are not suitable for eating. The varieties listed above are all ‘shelling peas’.

- Mangetout – a literal translation from French means ‘eat all’. At the immature stage the peas are harvested and eaten raw or cooked in their pods. They can also be grown to maturity and harvested as Shelling Peas.

Try – Sugar Ann, Kennedy, Sugar Flash, Shiraz [a purple podded variety], Oregon Sugar Pod, Delikata.

- Sugar Snap – very sweet, small peas. They are ususlly eaten as shelling peas but can, when immature be eaten as Mangetout - try Cascadia, Oregon Sugar Pod.

- Asparagus Peas - psophocarpus tetragonolobus – are not really peas but, are a member of the vetch family. I have grown this vegetable once – well you have to experiment with different vegetables! While some growers think highly of this vegetable and it is, undeniably very pretty, it is something of a nuisance to harvest. The winged pods must be harvested very regularly or they become tough and uneatable. The pods are tiny [2 – 3 cm long] and hard to see for harvesting. It takes a lot of them to provide a vegetable dish. I tried various ways of cooking to make a tasty dish but, failed – I found them fairly tasteless.

Harvesting and Storing

Freezing – A wonderful vegetable for freezing – sit out in the garden on a warm sunny day and pod them. Do check for mould or maggots and discard any damaged or under-developed peas. Pack them into suitable freezer bags, seal and freeze. Don’t forget that, when you come to use them, the peas are uncooked, they do need a few minutes to cook, unlike bought frozen peas

Drying – Only attempt to dry peas from undamaged and undiseased pods and discard any which look undeveloped or underdeveloped, The given advice is to allow on them to dry on the vines or, bring the dried pods home and allow them to dry out completely before removing from the pods, or use a dehydrator if possible. As I am often harvesting in damp conditions, I am more inclined to harvest when the pods looks as though they are drying out [not always dry on the wet ground!] bring them home and pod. I discard any discoloured or damaged pods or peas, being a bit worried about pests – especially bean and pea weevil. I lay the seeds out on tray in a coolish room with good ventilation. When the peas are well dried – this may take a couple of weeks - they should be very hard and give a sharp sound when dropped on the tray or surface- they should then be dry. Peas are a good subject for seed saving for the following year though, it is a good idea to buy in new seeds every few years to avoid a disease build-up.

Nutritional Value

Peas are low in fat and sodium [salt] and contain no cholesterol. They are high in fibre and protein [though an incomplete protein]. They are good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B – riboflavin, niacin. B6 and folate. Also Vitamin C [when fresh- 1 cup provides 98% of daily needs] and Vitamin K.

Good source of minerals – phosphorus, copper[trace element], manganese

Pests and Diseases

Pigeons – will eat the young growth from any young plants on our plots when nothing else is available. You might find that you need to net these crops if this appears to be a  problem. Pigeon damage has increased hugely in the last 10 years – many plot holders claim this is a direct result of the decline of the number of birds of prey on our fields as a result of some people laying poisoned bait for these wonderful raptors. If netting, do leave an escape hole for those intrepid birds which do find a way in.

Slugs and Snails – these can be a serious problem when the bean plants have just emerged or are very young and tender. In a damp year, they can clear your bean patch overnight.

Bean/pea Weevil will attack young plants and may destroy a young crop if serious but, more mature plants should outgrow any attack.

Seed Beetle or Weevil – if you are storing beans for seed or for eating the dried beans during the winter months this may be a problem. Seed will need to be checked regularly [weekly] when small round holes will be apparent or the small beetles in stored jars. Sort and remove contaminated seeds and the beetles or destroy the stored vegetables if the infestation is serious. [ see above].

Aphids – can be a pest but is not common – keep an eye on ant nests near your plantings and spray with SB plant invigorator [ organic and feeds the crops as well as reducing the numbers of pests and diseases.

Mildew and Botrytis – Many varieties these days are resistant to these diseases though attacks of aphids can leave the plants open to infection, especially in wet years. Spray with SB plant Invigorator an organic compound which will encourage the plant to outgrow problems.