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January 11, 2008

Reminiscing about peas

Last night, while cleaning off an old computer at home, I ran across some garden images that I took a couple of years ago. I'm sharing this one with you because it made me think back to all the good memories that I have of peas.

When I was really small, maybe 6 or 7, I'd guess, my paternal and very Italian grandparents, were in charge of me and not my other three siblings for one summer night, for whatever reason. They took me to the drive-in to see a double feature -- Dumbo and Lily. At my age, in those days, I had never considered eating healthy. Why would I? I ate what all kids ate and never thought anything of it. Instead of taking me to the concession stand, she leaned over the seat and handed me a paper bag full of fresh plump green peas still in the pods. I don't even know how she knew I'd like them but I sure did, especially because they were fun to pop open, to peel back and to scoop clean. So sweet, so crisp, so cool. She must have just bought them at a farm stand before she picked me up. Every time I eat them, I think of that night. And they are the first thing I plant in my garden every year, along one whole side of the fence.

Peas from 2005, Exeter, Rhode Island

One day, maybe four years ago, I offered to take a friend's son for the day to help her out. It was a day when I had planned to do some garden work. When he arrived, I asked him what he felt like doing and he didn't know, so I asked him if he wanted to help me plant the peas in my garden. What child wouldn't want to go outside and work in the dirt? (To a gardener, that's "soil", but kids prefer to believe they are playing in dirt, so we'll leave it as dirt). We spent a lot of time looking for long thin branches and pruning off the little shoots so we could tie them together to make the teepee-like structures the peas could climb along. We tied them together, spread the bottoms and set them in place. Then he planted the peas all around them, watered them -- the works. He was so proud of what he had done that he had to show his mom when she got back. Later on, when the peas came in, I sent a big bad of pods to his house so he could see and taste the result of his hard work. I wasn't there to see it, but his mom described a scene much like my memory of the drive-in. And since then, when he spots me, he always waves and flashes a big smile and I know what he's thinking about.

And last, but not least, there is Fletcher, my Airedale, who eats the peas right off the plants once he knows where they are. It was my own fault, trying to teach him a funny trick. I forgot he had such a good memory.

Now remember, planting your peas is only about, what, 11 weeks away? Maybe earlier in the warmer than usual climate of late. Rest a little now, gardeners! Go to a movie, read a good book, take long naps. Your gardens will soon be calling!

Posted by Beth Heaney at 12:29 PM to Garden Memories | Permalink

Comments

Hi, Beth,

Those plants look so healthy. I haven't had much luck growing peas. Is there anything I might be missing in terms of doing this? Thanks.

Anonymous | January 12, 2008 1:05 AM link

Hi, I'm not one for doing much soil prep, but I never plant them in the same place from one year to the next. I do make sure the soil is loose and there is plenty of organic compost in there and that they have something to grab onto as they grow.

I also found this info for you on http://www.seedswestgardenseeds.com/peasindex.html
Plant peas in spring, two seeds per hole, 1" deep, 6" apart in rows 18" apart. Trellis peas for ease of harvest and to keep the heavily laden vines off the ground. Sufficient phosphorous is very important for strong roots, fruit production and disease resistance, so add cottonseed meal, ground rock phosphate or bonemeal to the soil each spring. Soak seeds overnight for faster germination. Peas should germinate in about two weeks at a soil temperature of 50 degrees and in only seven days at 72 degrees. The most common reason peas fail is that they're planted in soil that is too wet or too cold or both. For earlier planting, you might try tilling the bed in the fall and mulching over winter with black plastic, which will warm the soil earlier in the spring.

And as an added note, as with almost everything I plant, I don't do it only for the food, but for the experience of picking and preserving. Low and strong morning sun in the late spring and early summer makes the pods almost translucent, so they're easy to spot and pick. I love that part of growing peas almost as much as I love eating them!

Beth Heaney | January 14, 2008 11:04 AM link

January 11, 2008

Reminiscing about peas

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