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.  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 who lose little of their flavor when frozen.

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.